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Originally Posted by Chrysalis
It matters because something has to give when profits are involved.
To a private company its profits > everything else. They have to think of the bottom line first. Especially if its a shareholder owned company.
Private healthcare is ok when the rich are the customers because they will pay the premium needed to get good healthcare and for the company to make their profit. But when it has to supply to millions of poor people the margins will drop and they will cost cut.
The 125 billion budget isnt the problem, we were simply correcting the fact the nhs was so under funded under the previous tory government. It is still less funded than other developed countries as a % of GDP.
The waste that occurs in the NHS I would expect alot of it is private contractors milking the NHS knowing its funded by the government. Its common practice for private companies to think they hit the jackpot whenever government money is involved.
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Please can you be Heath Secretary!
---------- Post added at 10:41 ---------- Previous post was at 10:36 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by heero_yuy
You're quite right to highlight the dodgy PFI initiatives of the last decade. These seem to have been entered into by the naive and the private companies have run rings round the civil servants. Shiney new facilities have come on line and made the politicians look good but the bills are still to be picked up by subsequent administrations.
I conden the morons who signed the contracts, not the companies who took advantage of free money, it is what their shareholders expect them to do.
That does not detract from the fact that competition between providers will drive down costs to the NHS. You can argue that it also drives down wages but that is the inevitable result.
You could of course keep everything in the NHS and double the wages but if the budget remains the same, and in these straitened times it has to, then halve the number of medics, porters, nurses, doctors...
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Why should health workers face a wage cut?
As for Competition, take the USA for example and I would rather have one good heathcar provider, rather than many bad ones!
Until I see the rich selling they cars, yachts, planes and other luxury good, I am not convinced that we are in "straitened times"
Also I 100% disagree with PFI and we should pay all the debts relating to it and ban its use!