Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

people who say the NHS is free?

251 replies

Sallygoround631 · 02/04/2022 00:17

It isn't free. This is truly absurd. It is funded by us, and always has been.

I see this so often on MN, and in all seriousness too, as if it is a free gift the government give to us.
I've read more than one poster suggesting we wouldn't have an obesity epidemic if the MHS wan't 'free', and that the US healthcare system would benefit us!
WTAF?
Because the US has never had an obesity issue....

How can anyone of adult age in the uk think the NHS costs us nothing?
Christ, and you wonder why the government takes the piss.

OP posts:
TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 02/04/2022 11:53

@anappleadaykeeps

"Cool your tits love"

I may have had too much wine to drink this evening, but I love this phrase. Must try to use this in real life this weekend xx

Perhaps shout it out to the vicar on Sunday when he is mid-way through his 'hellfire and brimstone' sermon?
balalake · 02/04/2022 11:56

Regarding missed appointments and no-shows, whilst agreeing about the costs, I expect that there is little you can do. Especially given the widely held views about how difficult it is to get one in the first place, and the reputation of receptionists.

hangrylady · 02/04/2022 11:58

@ToothGrinder

Well it is free for those who do not work isn't it?

Only if they never buy anything that includes VAT.

If someone hasn't earned the money they are paying with then those things are free too.
loopylindi · 02/04/2022 12:05

I also think we should have an idea of what prescription drugs cost. I am diabetic and most of the tablets I take are cheap as chips(ha! ha!) But one injectable I've been prescribed cost £ 16 for a months supply. Insulin costs a lot more here than in the USA. True, it wouldn't help my condition to know, but at least I'd have a sense of responsibility

BarrowInFurnessRailwayStation · 02/04/2022 12:14

What I find difficult to deal with is the attitude of some health care providers when trying to access assistance. GPs routinely fob you off, patronise or downplay your problem and some are downright rude. I get a better service at the vets with my cats. The vet doesn't treat me like I'm an idiot and it's very much a collaborative partnership as we try to help the cat. I know it's a private service and I'm paying for it, but I'd expect to have some sort of similar service from the NHS. We're expected to bow and scrape and be grateful for being fobbed off, patronised and misdiagnosed.

Jannt86 · 02/04/2022 12:25

It's not free and it isn't perfect but it's one of the most cost-effective health services in the world which ensures health equality. It's underfunded and has issues but the inevitably looming private healthcare would cost more fot pretty much everyone and mean that many people became bankrupt just for having the nerve to develop a chronic illness or daring to become unwell.... I'm not sure what your point is...

ToothGrinder · 02/04/2022 12:25

Ime the main function of a GP is to prevent you accessing other parts of the service.

They're like taps. You know how you look at a tap and think its purpose is to give you water. Actually this is not really the case. Mechanically speaking a tap is doing its job when it's off. It stops the water from pouring all over your bathroom. So it is with GPs.

AchillesPoirot · 02/04/2022 12:26

I would never get private health cover for my pre existing medical conditions. I’m so glad the nhs covers me.

And it’s not a case of it would be expensive. No one would cover me.

CovidCanDoOne123 · 02/04/2022 12:28

I have to say I also get riled by the entitlement of the "I've paid NI and taxes all my life" brigade. If you access the NHS even fairly frequently, it's exceptionally unlikely you've put in anywhere near as much as you get out...

Jannt86 · 02/04/2022 12:32

@BarrowInFurnessRailwayStation

What I find difficult to deal with is the attitude of some health care providers when trying to access assistance. GPs routinely fob you off, patronise or downplay your problem and some are downright rude. I get a better service at the vets with my cats. The vet doesn't treat me like I'm an idiot and it's very much a collaborative partnership as we try to help the cat. I know it's a private service and I'm paying for it, but I'd expect to have some sort of similar service from the NHS. We're expected to bow and scrape and be grateful for being fobbed off, patronised and misdiagnosed.
GP like most other services is horrendously under-resourced, underfunded and underappreciated. Don't let the government or corrupt media tell you otherwise. We don't need to privatise the system we need to properly fund the highly effective and fair system we already have
ToothGrinder · 02/04/2022 12:53

Re taxes, people don't just contribute through their own personal tax bill ofc. If you are an employee you also generate tax take in the form of employer contributions and other taxable activity. If you are a customer, you also generate tax take in the form of paying a business which then pays tax etc. It's all interconnected. I mean that is literally society. Those on the lowest incomes tend to spend a higher portion of that income which inevitably at multiple steps along the economic way will involve tax being collected, in contrast to tax efficient asset investment which is where surplus money from those who have it gets parked.

BeingATwatItsABingThing · 02/04/2022 14:14

@AchillesPoirot

So according to that I’ve contributed more than I’ve taken out.
I hope I’m lucky enough for my whole life that I’ll pay in more than I take out. I’m also paying for my children until they pay their own taxes. I hope the amount I pay is significantly more than the cost of the care they ever need.
ivykaty44 · 02/04/2022 14:23

I have to say I also get riled by the entitlement of the "I've paid NI and taxes all my life" brigade.

I had this said to me on more than one occasion in my previous job.

Cost of one night stay in NHS hospital is £400
average cost of state education, also paid for with income tax, £73000

average income tax and NI on average £30k wage is £512 per month

JustDanceAddict · 02/04/2022 14:25

People are stupid, end of.
Free at the point of access, as are state schools.

knowinglesseveryday · 02/04/2022 22:55

Anyone who isn't really wealthy would be horrified to see into the future if the NHS were privatised. Or when, given all the foreign capitalists rubbing their hands as the government forms commissioning bodies to include the private sector. They're doing it behind your backs, people.

L0stinCyberspace · 02/04/2022 23:36

You are so lucky when you compare the UK situation to the Republic of Ireland's...€60 per GP visit for children and adults, pay €100 to visit A&E, €80 per day in hospital, €250 for a private consultant visit, over €100 per month for household prescriptions...

Lanja · 02/04/2022 23:40

Well it’s free to the point of use, which is what I assume they’re talking about. It’s also free if you’re not working/a student

Backofthenet20 · 02/04/2022 23:43

The NHS is very inefficient. It is the worlds 5th biggest employer. Only the Chinese army, Mac Donald’s, Walmart & US defense employ more people. I have the advantage of using UK private health care, US health care & the NHS. I much prefer the private system where I book & see who I choose, when I choose. Our insurance is about $400/month & we spend about $2000 a year and even with chronic conditions. I prefer the US system where if I need to see my endocrinologist I ring & get in immediately. When I had Covid he saw me the next day by telemedicine & got me immediate treatment through the hospital. In the UK the endocrinologist took 3 months even in an urgent referral. The system is just broken. My Dad has been waiting for a knee replacement for 5 years, couldn’t get past his GP. A reform of the NHS is long overdue

Galvantula · 02/04/2022 23:46

It's free at the point of use, is what I've heard people say i.e. you don't need your insurance or credit card details at the hospital or GP and you won't get a bill later either.

In principle I'd rather pay taxes for a service like this, which is the same for anyone - but the Tories have been doing their best to fuck it up. No party has really looked at it for ages.

To be fair I've mostly had a decent service.

OnGoldenPond · 03/04/2022 01:02

@ChunkyMonkey2020

The nhs nearly killed me last weekend and the amount of people that have said to me " you can't complain because it's free".

It isn't bloody free. We all pay for it in our taxes.

If your treatment was negligent you can and you definitely should complain. If no one complains the dangerous treatment continues and people die.

Any good health professional would urge you to complain about it as they are as keen as you are to see it properly dealt with but they are often risking their jobs if they raise a concern about a senior colleague's conduct. Rigorous regulation is needed for a healthy and safe health service.

Ozanj · 03/04/2022 01:17

The cost of healthcare in the US comes from taxes (the same proportion as our NHS does) PLUS unlimited private contributions per month. Over there normal working people who don’t get insurance through work (and many manual workers don’t) die from preventible causes because they can’t afford testing / drugs. Or have to incur lifelong debts for relatively minor treatments.

Don’t bash the NHS and then use the US as an example. Even if you look at the way it’s funded it’s still a lot cheaper. If anything we need to aim for a system of true public private partnerships combined with ‘fair wages’ that much of Western Europe have.

Ozanj · 03/04/2022 01:24

@Backofthenet20

The NHS is very inefficient. It is the worlds 5th biggest employer. Only the Chinese army, Mac Donald’s, Walmart & US defense employ more people. I have the advantage of using UK private health care, US health care & the NHS. I much prefer the private system where I book & see who I choose, when I choose. Our insurance is about $400/month & we spend about $2000 a year and even with chronic conditions. I prefer the US system where if I need to see my endocrinologist I ring & get in immediately. When I had Covid he saw me the next day by telemedicine & got me immediate treatment through the hospital. In the UK the endocrinologist took 3 months even in an urgent referral. The system is just broken. My Dad has been waiting for a knee replacement for 5 years, couldn’t get past his GP. A reform of the NHS is long overdue
You paid $6,800 over 5 years (so $34,000 so far in total) for routine healthcare that is often free or semi-free in many countries (even with chronic conditions). Maybe, just maybe, if you lived in the UK or even a country like France / Australia where healthcare is semi-private you might have been able to afford to pay his knee replacement yourself. Food for thought.
Backofthenet20 · 03/04/2022 03:24

@Ozanj the costs are for my healthcare. Based on payment of 40% tax plus 20% VAT in the UK I am sure I pay less in the US because my effective tax rate is so much less, about 19%. My Dad unfortunately lives in the UK and does not have private insurance. The NHS has let him down badly & left him in pain. There are many other systems doing better than the NHS, Canada gas socialized healthcare too & they have much better performance than the NHS with roughly equivalent funding.

Calandor · 03/04/2022 03:29

They obviously mean free at point of access. People in the US spend £40k to have a baby!!

I am on a medication, injections not diabetic an inherited disease, that costs £46,000 a year. I only earn £30,000 a year.

I'm sorry you feel so hard done by but some of us would be in pain, many would die, if they couldn't get the meds they can't pay for on their own.

I am not less worthy of life or a lack of pain because I'm not a high earner.

Calandor · 03/04/2022 03:30

Oh and I'm 26, BMI 21, I'm vegetarian, exercise several times a week, drink alcohol maybe once every two weeks.

I've done nothing wrong!