The NHS, how does it work?

The key ideas behind the NHS

The idea of the NHS is to give the whole population access to comprehensive treatment whenever they need it, free at the point of use, so that when you are ill you don’t have to worry about paying a bill.   When and how you receive treatment depends upon your clinical needs, not your ability to pay, as the cost is shared through the tax system.   Many other countries offer a comprehensive range of healthcare but none have such low charges making it amongst the most accessible and fairest in the world.   Through the NHS the risk of ill health is shared across the whole community not borne by the individual.   Gordon Brown once called it “the best insurance policy in the world”. Standard insurance policies always have conditions for paying out, whereas the NHS provides comprehensive care to us all with very few conditions.
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6th May 2024

NHS budget: We spend less
The Kings Fund: "“We spend below average on our health service compared to our peers, so it’s not surprising that we have fewer hospital beds, doctors, nurses, MRI/CT scanners. To a certain extent, you get what you pay for.”

Murders point to inadequate mental healthcare
The Hainault tragedy may turn out to be the latest in a series of high-profile killings that have focused public attention on the adequacy of mental health treatment and care. A study by London’s Violence Reduction Unit of 50 homicides,....found mental illness was a “key factor” in 29 cases. Yet the mental health budget has been cut yet again. The crisis in mental health services is analysed here.

"Cuts will result in deaths"
Hospitals are being forced to cut medical staff, threatening their ability to care for patients, senior health leaders have warned. NHS leaders had been recruiting medical staff as part of their efforts to tackle the waiting lists backlog, but they are now being told their priority must be to balance the books.

Stockport hospital ceiling collapses
Parts of ceilings have fallen in at two key units of a decrepit NHS hospital, forcing it to evacuate patients and cancel X-rays and scans. The problems at Stepping Hill hospital in which is plagued by leaks and major structural defects, have prompted claims it is “dangerous for both patients and staff”.