That was the title of an article by Allison Pearson in the Daily Telegraph a couple of days ago – see https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2024/04/09/nhs-enemy-of-british-people-cancer-deaths-waiting-lists/ . This was an article that covered some personal experiences and statistical data on the performance of the NHS and it makes for depressing reading. The BBC seemed to want to counter this with a Panorama item on the problems of private hospitals (no intensive care units if things go wrong which they exaggerated).
As a big user of the NHS I have some view on this (I have suffered from IgA Nephropathy, a serious kidney disease for over 30 years, and have had one transplant and two dialysis periods). I have also used private GPs and consultants including an operation in a private hospital because minor ailments are a particular problem if you want quick treatment.
It is clear to me that the NHS GP service is failing and A&E units are often overstretched. Overall I am not unhappy with NHS care. But they do need more staff and more hospital beds (I did discharge myself from one A&E unit after realising there would be no overnight bed and no diagnosis for symptomless extreme blood test numbers). The ambulance service also seems overstretched in some areas.
The NHS IT systems have improved over the years enormously but communications do not always go smoothly. In essence, some parts good but some parts poor.
In summary I don’t think the NHS needs a lot more money but they do need more effective management, more staff and more facilities. As regards privatisation of some parts, bring it on I say. My current dialysis provider is Diaverum who do a good job. They seem to be owned by a private equity firm.
P.S. Suella Braverman wrote a good follow up article for the Telegraph on this subject here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/09/our-ailing-nhs-needs-fundamental-reform/
Roger Lawson (Twitter: https://twitter.com/RogerWLawson )
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A friend working in an NHS hospital department has nineteen staff managed by nine administrators. They were told that they needed to reduce numbers because of budget cuts.
So they sacked one of the nineteen staff.