What do people believe is so special about the NHS?

richp007

I had a hip replacement nearly 8 years ago and with the post-op annual check ups I had for the next four or five years I always asked if the x-ray photo on screen could be emailed to me there and then, and was told they weren't allowed to, but I could order a hard copy from reception for a stupid price, so I just took photos of the screen which they were fine with me doing


EDIT ... btw my NHS experience with the hip replacement was excellent, had one of the country's best orthopaedic consultants, a great implant (not one of those dodgy metal on metal ones that have caused huge problems, especially in the US), and great recovery/physio programme, such that I was free of crutches in little over a fortnight; also only had to wait about 3 months from GP referral to surgery, and would have been earlier if there hadn't been a last minute postponement.

kav

As far as I'm aware that's illegal. You can request a copy of anything they hold on you at any time. Maybe a small fee is involved, but just been through it with my dad incidentally enough. We've got CD's and all kinds for him through the post. Good job they didn't get lost.

It's that cloudy subject of data rights, but I'm pretty sure when it comes to your health you can ask for anything they hold on you.

Iain42

The Irish healthcare system I grew up in was more or less an NHS equivalent, though not "free for everyone" - it was means-tested. However, that was dismantled over the past 20 years or so and now it's a much more US-like model with most people I know having some form of private healthcare. Positives include much quicker, more responsive service. Negatives include having to fork out 50 Euro to see your GP, or 100 Euro to visit A&E, and of course costly premiums for private healthcare on top of PRSI (pay related social insurance, the Irish equivalent to NI).

I moved here in 2002 and am continually both amazed and appalled by the NHS. Amazed in the sense that so much of what they do is a genuine benefit to people, and it's provided "free". When it's good, it's world class. Appalled because there are a ton of horror stories at the wastage and neglect endemic in an organisation that is simply too large and too poorly structued to be managed effectively. It's far from above reproach, and I think that one of the main issues is that the NHS is viewed too much as an untouchable sacred cow - no politician has the guts to do anything about it because it would be political suicide.

The principle of the NHS is absolutely incredible; the execution could be drastically improved. I don't think it should be scrapped, but in business terms, a wholesale restructure from the top down and the bottom up ought to happen to make it viable.

Zoea

I know of the Irish system from a work colleague.  He tells me that it works well, if you genuinely can't afford to pay you get a credit card type thing to prove it.

I think some kind of fee to see a GP is reasonable.  It seems around 5% of appointments are missed, which seems quite remarkable to me.  Nothing like a financial incentive to make that less likely.  

To give some perspective to its size, the NHS is the fifth largest employer in the world.

richp007

I'm learning. The 5th largest organised effort in the world. No wonder we love it!

The stat according to my local GP surgery is that 1/16 of appointments are missed. 6.25%

EarthRod

Danger with that is you would get some just turning up at A&E instead. And they're overcrowded enough.

You may also have people not going when they should, then getting worse and ending up at hospital anyway.

In principle it's not a terrible idea, but it could be tricky to introduce.

Ruperts slippers

Introduce an initial fee, say £10 or £15, to visit any medical facility: GP, A&E, nurse etc.

Like the dentist, the initial fee covers any ongoing treatment for the complaint or injury.

kav

Maybe the government should introduce some kind of personal MOT for all citizens, this might help identifying any under lying health issues that could become major issues.
However it would be nice to think people would take a keen interest in their own health but they don't.

InvisibleDuncan

In Ireland there is a medical card, it's for unemployed, pensioners, and those under a certain income - they get treatment for free. Everyone else pays. Something like that could work, potentially. I do think that a small fee for GP and A&E is reasonable given how many people don't show up to appointments. (Could make the latter slightly more to combat people trying to circumvent their GP.) It could be a source of income and help reduce queues.

GadgetObsessed

I think there are three main problems with making changes to the NHS:

It's incredibly emotive. As soon as anyone raises the topic, there's a chorus of "But the NHS saved my Mum's life!". The implication is that they would have died if they'd been in any other country in the world.

On top of that, certain sections of the political landscape and media spin every comment about potentially improving the NHS as a personal attack on the medical staff - "How dare you insult our wonderful nurses!"

The other huge hurdle has already been mentioned: the assumption (again amplified by sections of the media and those of a certain political ilk) that if you want to change the NHS, what you really mean is that you want to sell it off to Trump and change to a US system that will leave people dying because they can't afford healthcare.

These all make it very difficult to have a sensible conversation about it.