NHS Privatisation/Reform

[JLArthur]

What does everyone think of privatisation of our NHS system? As someone that is in complete support of privatisation, paid prescriptions and appointments to alleviate pressure on our healthcare system I'm interested in what others think. I feel like we have no alternative, no money, not enough resources and skilled healthcare professionals are available, many are choosing to work over seas.

Unless you're destitute or an immigrant/asylum seeker in need of immediate medical assistance on arrival then we should be paying for the healthcare and prescriptions received. Whether that's paid for by private insurance policy or without. With private treatment you'll benefit from reduced waiting times, more time to talk to your doctor, less time in waiting rooms and you sometimes be assigned a case worker who will support you through treatments.

That system has failed. People are literally going without care as we speak.🗣️

The NHS is still the best because it has the best doctors in the UK working for it. Private medicine can't beat that - the expertise is off the scale.

I've used both. And I have actually fought to have the public NHS to see me and my children; because it's better. No the curtains and the wards are not as luxurious, it's tired and the staff are even more so, but they are still the best. My father is treated by Moorfields, I've had my children delivered in world class hospitals, and had emergency treatment that saved their lives. All those people were brilliant. And they got my family and me well and they cared.

The food is dire. The management is too. The actual treatment is brilliant

And even more so will do when it's paid for at the point of care 🗣

It’s worrying to have someone as aggressive as you working in the NHS if I’m honest. Taxes aren’t working, other countries have a system that is much more efficient and effective and they are privatised.

I agree. Many other countries have better health systems based on an insurance model. Australia is great - you get a minor tax break for having health insurance.

I think you're throwing the baby out with the bathwater somewhat @JLArthur - it just sounds like overly simplistic black and white thinking.

I'm not saying that the NHS is perfect, of course it isn't. But I also don't agree that we should knock it down and make something entirely different either. There's room for some nuance, and for an evidence-based discussion.

We aren't saints you know, we have passion and we have feeling. Especially when someone who only accesses private healthcare is online trying to denigrate people like me and the people I work with and claiming to know better about what's currently going on that the actual people working in it. If you think that's being aggressive then can I suggest some therapy on your private healthcare to work on that resilience?

I'm annoyed with myself that I've even engaged with you further. But in the nicest possible way...

ODFOD!!!!

An evidence based discussion would be amazing! It should be a hot topic.

Thank you to everyone that participated.

I don't know, it doesn't feel particularly tempting to get discuss something with someone who seems to be yelling from one end of the spectrum.

Sometimes I wonder whether some MN threads are just started to nudge the public consciousness, one Overton window at a time.

Mumsnet is a powerful platform. I think we’re all slightly biased but I like to hear the views of others. Decent thread we left behind.

Thank You Mumsnetters!

The NHS can be saved and we should all be doing our utmost to achieve this.

It needs everyone to alter their behaviour and expectations of what is available to them and in what timeframe.

It cannot give everyone what they want, whenever they want it. It cannot deal with every minor ache, pain, cut, worry or query.

It can only provide what you need, when you need it. This need would not be decided by individuals googling what they think is wrong with them and then demanding antibiotics, expensive tests 'just in case' and referrals 'because they think they would help' It would be decided by qualified professionals assessing and triaging them.

It needs people to acknowledge that medicine is not perfect and that mistakes are made, that diagnoses are made on the basis of current information/condition and are subject to change as this changes.

It needs the media to avoid over dramatizing rare events, and reporting these as though they are common, creating panic and extra unnecessary demand.

It needs all of us to care for ourselves and our families as much as we are able to, in order to make resources available for those who need extra help.

There are plenty of qualified staff in this country - they're not working in the NHS at the moment because it is unsafe to do so. If this was changed then they could return. It's not just about pay, in fact I would say it was more about working conditions.

Soap box rant over.

But spending in real terms dropped. As % of GDP doesn’t tell the full story. https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/funding/health-funding-data-analysis

An evidence based discussion would be amazing! It should be a hot topic.

But you have not put forward much evidence OP besides saying other countries do it differently and you have private health care.

I worked in the US health system for over a decade. Health problems as a leading cause of bankruptcy, the most expensive medication costs in the world, people thinking their insurance covered things that were not covered, insurance companies employing battalions of staff to turn down claims, insurance company doctors being given rounds of applause for finding ways to deny care. Doctors refusing to take insurance cases because of the amount of hassle it was to deal with companies. And people stuck in exploitative jobs because if they moved, they would lose their insurance and if their problem was a pre-existing condition it would not be covered.

I have family in Ireland and Spain. They complain constantly about the cost of insurance and levels of care.

The NHS is not perfect or even working well for sure. But just because the current regime has had 13 years of wrecking it so they can excuse selling it off to their fat cat mates, and the system is on its knees, that is no reason to say it should not exist. If we allow that to happen we are idiots.

Insurance in this country is already a scandal - there was going to be an inquiry about it a few years ago and then it all went quiet, the industry probably made some big donations in the right places. But we all need to remember these are companies dedicated to making profits. And that may be at the expense of your health or your life if you need to rely on getting health care through them.

Well excuse me for sharing my experience of caring for my dying parent (6 months since funeral) and other parent who is going through cancer treatment. Have some compassion fgs!

So actually I’m not alright Jack. It’s been pretty shit but I’m grateful for the NHS. My wider family is spread across England and our experience has honestly not been too bad. I know there’s lots of people suffering, but it’s still providing very good care for many of us.

I’m actually feeling a little sickened that @C8H10N4O2 called me lucky for caring for dying parents. What an absolute nasty person you are.

@Hyldgegrub I think their comment was aimed at the OP not you

Agree. The NHS is being run into the ground. If you work then you should have insurance.
If you are on benefits then the government funds you.
If you have an accident/heart attack etc that is either covered by insurance or again if unemployed the NHS

She didn’t.

It's about priorities though surely? I pay £50 a month for private healthcare.
Many wouldn't think twice about spending that on a dominoes

@JLArthur do you really think an insurance company will charge someone with a chronic condition the same as someone without any medical issues?

It should be fair.

Sorry @C8H10N4O2 i apologise, I thought your post was aimed at me.

Why will an insurance model be cheaper or more efficient than properly funding the NHS out of taxation?

Of course they don't. Insurance is great until you have a problem. Then you try reinsurance and find out the limitations