HOT TOPIC- Privatisation of the NHS

An important part of nursing is to make sure that you are aware and up to date with health and social care issues, whether it be new policies, changes in funding, new medicines or treatments, current health epidemics or praise and condemnation received from the media. I believe everyone has an obligation to take a broad interest in their career, seeing the wider picture of their world of work . This is why I am sharing my views on the privatisation of the NHS.

To me privatisation seems like a short term solution to a long term problem. Yes, funding one of the best health care systems is never going to be easy but for me I do not understand how privatisation will provide service users with value for money in the long term. As long as private companies need to make a profit from providing health care then in my view, there is little opportunities for saving money without cutting the quality of care or the pay for workers. Besides, at least the NHS has economies of scale on their side (probably my naivety showing through). Have a look at this article that says that the NHS is actually one of the most cost effective health care providers in the world.  This article was written 3 years ago, so it is a shame there is not any more recent research on this.

I do not claim to be an expert in such things and I am sure I am mistaken, but for me the privatisation of the NHS is a gradual creeping of a health care system aiming to be something akin to America's health care system. If you have a good employer, who provides you with good health insurance cover then you are laughing. If like an increasing number of the population in the UK, you find yourself in an unstable job or low paid job then you would no doubt be provided with little or no staff benefits. If and when you then fall ill, you would be deprived of access to health care that many others in your local community would have access to. This would drive even larger disparities between the rich and poor. Can you really imagine yourself falling on hard times and not having access to the same health care as your neighbor, say? To me this seems ludicrous and really not what a wealthy western society should be promoting. The government have a moral obligation to provide a tax funded health care system available for all.

People argue that individuals and organisations promoting anti-privatisation are dreaming of the NHS's goldern glory days. This I argue is not true. For me, the NHS is a tried and tested system and it is and I believe will continue to be one of the best health care systems and providers in the world. Yes, the NHS may need to modernise in some respects, utilising new technologies to save money and time. However privisation is not the answer in the long term.

Now that is a face I just can not trust.