Quote:
Originally Posted by OLD BOY
This is what worries me. We all appreciate having a health service free at the point of delivery, but it is inefficient and often provides unsatisfactory service. It needs a fundamental overhaul, and if the private sector can help by making things work better, we should not shrink from going down that route. As long as it continues to be 'free', why should it matter who provides the service?
I hope Boris sets up a Royal Commission to look into the integration of health and social care and to recommend ways of ensuring these services are brought up to the standard we expect as efficiently as possible.
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Because if there is a profit motive, this reduces the amount spent on the service, and adds layers of bureaucracy and cost.
The French and German model is run on State and Registered Charity model, not on a "for profit" model; the estimate is that about 30 percent of American health care expenditures were the result of administration, and that’s before the profit margin is introduced. Private Health in this country depends on the NHS as a backstop - if anything goes seriously wrong, the patient is shipped to the NHS for intensive care & emergency care.
A perfect example of where involving the private sector went wrong is the Probation system - the focus was on cost savings, not making the service fit for purpose.
I agree we need to look at a holistic solution for health and social care, as there are too many gaps at present.