tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9172766774137902766.post4537873342516447350..comments2023-12-23T09:28:20.869+00:00Comments on The View from Cullingworth: Whose NHS is it really?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9172766774137902766.post-5511405688612284972016-01-04T13:14:24.633+00:002016-01-04T13:14:24.633+00:00By the same argument it's not our country, our...By the same argument it's not our country, our government, our anything in the public sphere.<br /><br />As a customer, I accept goods and services offered with terms and conditions all dictated to me by the supplier. I can only ever ask change and hope it is offered, if it suits them. I can complain if they do not meet <i>their own</i> targets. This is a situation where I am fundamentally weak. I am nothing but the strength of my wallet, which means effectively powerless, like most of the population.<br /><br />But the issue of systems being "ours" matters because it does influence how we think about it. It's an affinity to it - a belief in rights and responsibilities, and to demand some say in its operation at a core level. This is more empowered than being a mere customer. And whatever else you can say, if NHS "change" means privatisation, it becomes less ours.RESnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9172766774137902766.post-20013657839552232212016-01-02T21:44:01.459+00:002016-01-02T21:44:01.459+00:00It's 'our' NHS insofar as all we taxpa...It's 'our' NHS insofar as all we taxpayers fund it, and also insofar as it's available to all of us as needed (admittedly rather clunkily for some non-urgent things) without paying at point of delivery.<br />It's thus 'ours' in the sense of being a national accord in which we contribute as able so that all have access when needed, without risking bankruptcy from treatment costs (the cause of >50% of US bankruptcies). As a result we have, although not perfect, the most cost effective health system in the world [as assessed by the independent Commonwealth Fund].<br />No private system works more efficiently - US health admin costs are approximately twice those of the NHS.<br />It's just as much 'ours' as the UK is - none of us owns or controls it personally, but we buy into the concept of agreeing to delegate control to the (equally imperfect) systems in place.<br />So, for all those reasons, it's 'ours'!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16593864269998549240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9172766774137902766.post-4282777806217754492016-01-01T16:26:19.892+00:002016-01-01T16:26:19.892+00:00But 'our' NHS does not understand the conc...But 'our' NHS does not understand the concept of customer service because there's no 'live' exchange of money involved. An example:-<br /><br />On Sunday 27th December, I ordered an item on-line from a national company - despite the Monday being a Bank Holiday, the item arrived by free-delivery courier at lunchtime on Tuesday 29th December (that's a mere 4 'working hours').<br /><br />On Saturday 26th December, a lady ordered a repeat prescription on-line from her local NHS GP - when she called at the surgery to collect it around lunchtime on Tuesday 29th, she was told it would not be avalilable until Thursday 31st because "it takes 48 hours". That is, 48 hours plus the three non-days, merely to print-off and sign a pre-completed piece of paper, not even deliver it !<br /><br />It was certainly not HER 'NHS', but it was MY 'House of Fraser' - that's the service quality difference you get when there's a 'live' exchange of money involved.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com