[Angus]

Originally Posted by Niall

So you really think the introduction of an American system would remedy all of those problems? Maybe the bureaucracy of the NHS causes problems but that's something that can be fixed. I know the NHS has lots of issues that need to be sorted out - heck, my hospital is Queens in Romford. Have you heard the problems the maternity unit has been having?

It's just that an American system would just cause more chronic problems. You'd have people fighting with their insurance companies just to get treatments which they are rightly covered for which the company doesn't want to pay for. Then there would be the problem of actually paying for things, the cost of pills would skyrocket along with operations themselves.

You should watch Michael Moore's film 'Sicko'. It exposed all the disgusting failures the American HMO's had made and all the profits they were making. It was awful.

The answer to the NHS's problems isn't to wave a magic wand and be rid of it.. that in my opinion would just cause further problems elsewhere that are much much more widespread..

Well IMO it's about freedom of choice, and if those that can afford private healthcare want it, they shouldn't be castigated for it. I have lived and worked in America and can assure you the system works fine. No doubt they have their horror stories too, but they can probably be matched by the abundance of horror stories our NHS can offer. The system of health care insurance in the UK works brilliantly in the private sector, and I don't see why a national one could not be implemented which offers more choice and flexibility.

The NHS is not a "free" service, it is a compulsory component of the National Health Contributions and we all have to pay. I would prefer that there was some individual choice as to where that money went. There should always be health care available as a safety net for those who are completely unable to provide for themselves, but if people want to opt out they should be allowed to do so.

It seems to me that the worst care is reserved for terminally ill patients who are tacitly seen as a nuisance by the NHS and quickly referred onwards to hospices. This happened to my father years ago, and more recently to my brother. Hospices receive no government funding whatsoever and have to rely totally on fundraising and handouts, yet they are expected to do the job that the NHS should be doing, offering palliative and respite care, and dignified end of life care to people who have paid into the system for decades.

Such a subject is always bound to be emotive and I can only speak from my own personal experiences of the NHS, few of which have been satisfactory, never mind good, and my opinions on its lack of credibility as a reliable, adequate and consistent deliverer of good health care are based on those experiences.