Saturday 4 June 2011

Blue NHS

I have been asked to write a position piece on the NHS, I believe the position is the position of the conservative party, if only I knew what that position is. There are those within the party who want shot of it all, some like myself who care for its founding principle; “Free at the point of us” and others who support the current centralised model (I’ve never met anyone who dose but someone must).

So let us start from the start with Beverage. One of the five giants Beverage sought to slay was sickness and lameness contributing to enforced slough. In order to do this Beverage nationalised a swath of local hospitals and instigated the construction of more. He poured gold down the throats of the consultants and general practitioners to bring them into the service and united all of health providers under the one giant organisation. All of this paid for and funded via taxation and American loans

We were not alone in building a united health service, indeed all the continental powers followed are example but with one key difference. Instead of forcing all health providers under one roof, they simply provided a system where health providers could be paid and regulated via the state. This model was not as monotheistic as the NHS and yes it provided a role for the private sector to profit from health care but it did ensure a system of insurance based public private provision which is the most common in the world.

Indeed one must ask themselves an important question why dose no other nation of earth have the NHS and yet preserves the all-important ability to provided health free at the point of use well logic concludes that it is because a nationalised health service is not required. If you agree with me then you must conclude that though Beverage’s principle of health care free at the point of use is still key in the 21st century the method of its delivery should not be held in such regard.

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