Tuesday 8 July 2008

Be careful what you wish for...

If you believe what’s said in the media, you’d probably conclude that our NHS is on its knees and on the verge of a meltdown. You’d think that primary care (GPs and A&E) is a complete disaster in this country and that it’s only a matter of time before the whole house of cards comes crashing down round our ears.

Despite this "obvious truth," it seems that people in other countries see what we have here in the UK as a good thing and are actually quite envious of our health service.

Funny that…

Free access to GP services is what I believe needs to happen. Then, and only then, will those on low incomes be able to take control of their health. Sure, it'll cost a hell of a lot of money. But if people could afford to go to their GP to get their cholesterol checked, to have their blood pressure measured, to talk about giving up the fags, then we could potentially claw back a significant amount of the money, while at the same time improving the nation's health.

But when you have the choice between paying 60 euro to have your BMI measured, or buy the tin of baby formula that your nipper needs, I know which most people would choose.


The full article is over here.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thaks for the mention.

Having worked in the NHS for several years, access to primary healthcare for financial reasons isn't the problem. In Ireland it is. There are so many people in Ireland who don't go and see their GP because it's simply too expensive. Free GP care won't rid Ireland of it's healthcare problems, but it would certainly help us to at least engage those who need healthcare in the first place.

The situation in the UK is entirely different. Access to secondary care is a major problem there.

At least you're one step ahead of us in your bottlenecking :P

Dr. Thunder
www.twoweeksonatrolley.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Think I preferred the old look. Keep up the good work though!

Dr Michael Anderson said...

I'm not sure I'm that taken by my new look either. Let's just say it's still very much a "work in progress"

Lala said...

Yup, I know! As an Irish person studying in the UK it really pisses me off when people moan about the NHS; they really don't know how good they have it. My friends at Uni who have now reached the age where they have to pay prescription charges are constantly moaning about this. Hello? You pay £7 for a prescription. In Ireland you pay what it costs, could be 50, a 100 or more. The NHS is not perfect, but its pretty damn good.