NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE
Talk about a so called financial crisis in the NHS is largely unjustified. For instance, Torbay Care Trust has a budget of £243 million for 140,000 Torbay residents. That is over £16,000 per head, a fantastic amount of money, although of course most of it goes on the old, sick, and vulnerable.
Medical staff used to be poorly paid, and many emigrated to the US or Australia, but now our doctors and nurses are well paid by international standards, and medical staff are flocking to Britain from all over the world. It is possible for local GP's offering maximum services to earn £250,000 per year. Dentists negotiated a contract that guarantees them £80,000 plus another £80,000 expenses, yet some turn their nose up at it.
The National Health Service is one of the wonders of the modern world. Sure, it is far from perfect, and some money gets wasted, and there are still shortages, and while waiting lists have come down a lot, they still exist. We go to see our doctors without a second thought, and pop pills as if they grew on trees, yet for people in most of the world, this is an important part of their budget, and many cannot afford to even see a doctor let alone buy their medication. Even in America, unless you have a health insurance policy, you are up the creek withouit a paddle, and millions of Americans cannot afford such a policy, and just pray that they never get seriously ill.
Lets stop moaning and grumbling about everything, and just once in a while realise just how lucky we are to live in such a caring and decent society whichever party is in power.
