Monday, 30 June, 2008
The Future of the NHS
Thanks for your thoughts earlier in the day on our plans for tonight and for your views on the future of the NHS and whether it really can last another 60 years. Do keep them coming - we'll be sending comments over to the production team before the programme.
So - at the risk of repeating myself - tonight, as , we'll be examining his and other visions for the future of the NHS in a special edition of Newsnight. Gavin will be presenting live from a brand new super-surgery in Leicester where he'll be debating the prospects for the NHS with politicians, professionals and practitioners.
NHS at 60
And don't forget to keep the contributions coming in for . Liz MacKean will present a round up of your views on Wednesday's Newsnight as she travels the country in an antique ambulance. .
Before that on Tuesday's Newsnight Economics Editor Paul Mason will doing some number crunching: how big is the NHS funding gap and what can be done to bridge it? And on Thursday's programme Newsnight Review regular will be charting the changes of the NHS in the last 60 years as portrayed on TV and cinema - from to Charlie in Casualty.
Comment number 1.
At 30th Jun 2008, lesleymatt wrote:Sort it out ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ, the sound on tonight’s programme is amateurish. Could you not get the question time team in (even the Cbeebes team could have done better!).
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Comment number 2.
At 30th Jun 2008, b0pror00t0r wrote:I'm a work placement student, working in the IT department at my NHS placement.
There is such a ridiculous amount of money wasted on unnessarsary equipment and IT equipment left for months depreciating.
In my view the big IT project, (one national patient record) is an extraordinary waste of money, I've seen the software it's inefficient, slow and coded in Java.
Money needs spending on more staff and better wages for staff. Get rid of these middle managers who do nothing but use tax payers money, to attend expensive courses which only benefits their C.V, not the NHS, staff or patients.
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Comment number 3.
At 30th Jun 2008, suziebrig wrote:more funded local health self-help groups would help tremendously to carry out a preventative, consultative and invaluable feedback role for a better NHS
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Comment number 4.
At 30th Jun 2008, Duncan wrote:The guests on tonights programme, in particular Karol Sikora, appeared to suggest that there were only two alternatives for NHS funding: (1) direct taxation; (2) insurance-based funding. They failed to mention the alternative put forward by the Adam Smith Institute, i.e., medical savings accounts.
I'd like to see an impartial examination of the pros and cons of the various funding alternatives for the NHS and find out which alternative gives the most cost effective funding while at the same time providing the best health coverage.
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Comment number 5.
At 1st Jul 2008, JadedJean wrote:DOCTOR:PATIENT RATIOS
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Comment number 6.
At 1st Jul 2008, JadedJean wrote:DOCTOR:PATIENT RATIOS - WHO CARES?
The sad fact is, narcissists don't,a nd these types are attracted to public 'service' for all the wrong reasons. Have you noticed how quick so many of our politicians are to answer questions? It's almost as if they don't have to think .... isn't it?
If a certain level of native ability is required to become a doctor, and groups differ in mean ability largely because of genetics and assortive mating, what are the implications of the vast majority of London's (and many other big cities') population growth being almost exclusively in ethnic minority groups over the next 2 generations (60 years)? Meanwhile, bright females continue to have way below replacement level TFRs (1/3 of female graduates remain childless).
And if we try to draw the best that Africa and S. Asia have to offer (and according to the mean international IQ estimates, they can't have all that many to serve their already markedly dysgenic poplations as it is), what will happen in their countries,a nd by the same token, what must soon happen here? One solution is to lower standards of care because one can't get the staff.
Is this not something to consider when (naively) campaigning for freedom (i.e the free-market) and globalism whilst decrying statism?
Not very smart people tend to only see what's immediately in front of their noses - temporally speaking.
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Comment number 7.
At 1st Jul 2008, barriesingleton wrote:JADED JEAN: FREE AT POINT OF NAIL.
Hi Jaded. you refer to 'public service' and make a telling point. A long time back I coined the term: 'the interfering professions' not as a pejorative term but to call a spade a spade. I typified them as magnets for the strangely motivated.
It so happens, I have just been through the medical mill. I am left with good feelings for many of those who attended to me; some were neutral, but from other planets; a couple were memorable for the sour taste they left. I now have to follow all your links -that should take the rest of the day! What a service!
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Comment number 8.
At 1st Jul 2008, geriaticjunkie wrote:re/ NHS
The NHS sould should change it system.Two a two tier system. The only people who should be allowed free medical care are people on very low income live on or below the poverty line.Need life long care or terminally ill.
The system should be the more you earn the more you and your employer contributions increase.
Most large companys now offer private health insurance such as BUPA.
Although it doe's not cover alot of medical services, is a step in the right direction.
However I do think for all visiters to Britain. (Non nationals)Medical insurance should be compulsive.
Exsample if you where to visit America,because you know how high the charges are if you needed emergency service or was involved in an accident.All sensable people take out insurance before hand.
This would avoid the situation as now where by alot of people come over to the UK to receive free medical care.
The French System is excellent although exspensive.With the ''Carte Vitale (Has all your details on and works just like a credit card.
You get appoinments very quickly and test results eg. blood,mamogram and many others the same day.
BY all means keep the NHS for the people who really need it. The poor , long term medical illness and terminally ill.
S.Andrews in France
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