We love the NHS. It might be Britain’s most important institution. Every day I show up at work I meet people from literally all walks of life with the only thing in common that they are in need of healthcare. I do my share, among thousands of others, in providing that care. It’s something very basic and human about it and, often, it’s truly rewarding.
But. The precious national treasure has turned into an object for worship of religious dimensions. That doesn’t do much for creating a climate of open and free discussion. You don’t discuss God. And like God, it seems, NHS isn’t supposed to change. Founded 70 years ago on the core principle that care should be free at the point of delivery, most think this must remain the case. NHS is what it is, which is what it was.
A humble suggestion that a small fee would make people value it more and look after their visits and appointments better, while bringing in some much needed cash, is seen as nothing but blasphemy. Also, people wrongly assume that most of the western world outside USA gives healthcare away for free. Even, the intelligent and knowledgeable Henry Marsh, retired neuro surgeon and author of decent books, shares this misconception. “All of Scandinavia provides free healthcare for everybody”, he says in the Guardian. It doesn’t.
Sweden, the biggest of the Nordic countries, charges for its healthcare. And it’s got nothing to with the recent immigration craze. Swedes have always paid to go and see their doctor; just under £40 to visit the A&E and half of that to see the GP, who lets children and elderly in for free, but bills them if they fail to show up at an appointment. Annual fee caps and a social security system make sure people don’t get hit more than they can take. There’s a common attitude that any change to the NHS, per definition, is a threat to its existence. But changes are vital. To not change in a constantly changing society will make anyone and anything irrelevant and, before long, a failure.
The Economist, a tireless defender of freedom and liberalism, discussed NHS on it’s 70th birthday and concluded that the limited discussion climate and myths that surround it…
… have discouraged the NHS from learning from other countries. They have made it impossible even to think about boosting NHS revenue by charging patients a nominal sum for visiting the doctor. They may even have allowed scandals to go uncovered because nobody can bring themselves to blow the whistle on saintly NHS workers. Britain is right to celebrate a service that provides all Britons with free health care at a reasonable cost. But they are wrong to treat the NHS as an object of awe rather than a human institution with all the imperfections that being human entails.
Exactly.
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