NHS Crisis. Are you willing to pay more in tax?

[MajesticWhine]

The Patient's association says the NHS is now in crisis. Almost two thirds of health executives think the Government needs to raise taxes to pay for the NHS (link here).

In a poll of the public 62% supported the idea of increasing NHS spending but only 30% supported the idea the public should pay more tax to maintain NHS care and services. Unsurprisingly there is a disconnect between wanting more money to be spent, and actually being prepared to pay for it. There was also some public support for the idea of charging patients for some services (39%).

I am interested to know what mumsnetters think. Are we willing to pay more tax to maintain the level of service provided by the NHS? Or would we accept paying for some services?

*pet not let

Privatise it ASAP

Yeah cos that worked for the trains

Oh and energy companies do you know how much the government is going to spend propping up the energy market

Yes privatisation of an essential basic public service is the answer.

Give me proof that private companies do it better. We only know about the mistakes of the public sector because they're publicly accountable. Private organisations are not hence you don't hear quite so much about the shit when it hits the fan.

There's no evidence that private is better than public.

It accept people's arguments that you wouldn't care at the time if the service you were using was private or public. I also accept that private firms could probably provide a good level of service for the same price or cheaper too.

The stone wall which I can't get past is what would happen in 5, 10 or 20 years? At some point the profit motive is bound to put shareholder value above medical care.

Indeed there is a great incentive for private firms to operate a loss leader, then once the NHS was gone they could charge whatever they liked.

Just look at the PFI contracts. £50 billion worth of hospitals results in £300 billion to pay over 30 years - which effectively was a bribe for the firms to take the contracts on.

GDS is an interesting case. I've worked with them extensively and I only have two observations.

Everything they do is cocked up, but their philosophy is bang on. It is only really by the warped standards of the public sector that they are effective, though the central message of open source and ditch the consultancies is powerful.

Saying that the GCloud is likely to be a step too far.

The UK spends 23 million per day on foreign aid....., there sorted!

Fine the drunks who clog up A&E services and put a levy on the businesses who sell cheap alcohol that allow people to get into these states

Yes, happy to be taxed to fund NHS. It is one of the best things about being British - in principle an utterly civilised system. Stop buggering about with private companies though. It never works out well!

Crack down on waste first.

I work in a care home. Two of the relatives saw another resident receiving a new wheelchair. They jumped on the bandwagon and wanted new chairs for their loved ones.

The residents were duly fitted out with new NHS chairs.

Nobody thought to ask any of the nursing staff if these new wheelchairs would actually be used the residents in question never use a wheelchair as they use their wheeled recliner chairs during the day and never leave the building.

The new wheelchairs are both sitting in a corner out of the way

Hundreds of £s wasted

I would like to be told what my tax is paying for.

I'd pay more.