The NHS,
One of the greatest achievements in history
But is the NHS inherently flawed?
Two days ago I watched the debate between Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders, from the get go it was a one horse race. Ted Cruz was factual and engaging
leaving Bernie in a stuttering mess insulting small business owners left right and centre.
Now as I’m watching I begin to think of my own countries health care debate, which is whether we should privatize the NHS.
For those who don’t live in the UK the NHS is a free health care service for all UK residence, whether it +is cancer treatment or antibiotics it’s
all free. Although of course anyone who pays tax also pays National Insurance which a percentage is used for funding the NHS. The only exception to
this “tax” is if you’re on government benefits, retired or jobless but you still get the same treatment.
Now for me the NHS is incredible, why doesn’t America want that?! Why don’t they support Bernie more?! Then I looked at the facts, then I watched
the debate, then I began to see exactly why Obama Care and the NHS are fundamentally flawed.
When you give people a free safety net it is used and abused until the supply can no longer meet demand.
“Hey live however unhealthy you want! And when you’re about to drop, don’t worry because the free service will have your back”
62.9% of UK adults are obese compared to the US 35.7%
I believe this is because the threat of paying out for medical care in the UK is non-existing!
19% of UK adults smoke compared the 15% in the US
Now we can argue societal differences all day but the main contributor to living healthy is consequences, and as a UK citizen I can say there is no
financial consequence for living an un-healthy lifestyle.
“But Amnicks what about the healthy people who get sick and need the free treatment!”
YES what about those people? They suffer! They suffer due to the abused free healthcare by people who misuse the service. I can give a personal
anecdote but many other people have similar stories, I waited 5 hours to be seen at A&E with a broken leg whilst I counted 50% of people waiting who
looked
1. Personally healthy
2. Slight cough or sniffle
3. Drunk
4. Or waiting because you can’t get a convenient appointment with a GP other than admitting yourself to A&E
A&E isn’t the only main issue, its treatment times, quality of treatment, after care and GP appointment availability. This all creates the downfall
of the NHS.
This morning there was a nice bit of propaganda on sky news to get the people used to the knowledge of the NHS Downfall. They showed a real time
counter of the cost the NHS has had on the UK since the start of the show. I think it was up to 100,000,000 by the time I left for work.
Very soon I believe the NHS will be privatised and I hope we can somewhat redeem and fix this inherit problem with free health care.
So what do we think ATS? Is the NHS on course for disaster and will the USA follow in our footsteps?