Is free healthcare impossible? Labour has made turning the NHS around its most important mission. Some think its “kill or cure” approach might deal the service a mortal blow.
PM: NHS faces worst crisis in history
Is free healthcare impossible? Labour has made turning the NHS around its most important mission. Some think its "kill or cure" approach might deal the service a mortal blow.
The UK is not an especially religious place. Only 28% of people in the country say they believe in God, and just 5% of the population goes to church regularly.1
But this is not to say they lack devotion. Observers have long joked that the real British national religion is the National Health ServiceThe publicly funded healthcare system in the UK. The NHS was founded in 1948..
Fully 54% of British citizens say the NHS is what makes them most proud to be British.2 As far back as surveys go, it has been the top political issue for British voters.3
But satisfaction with its services is at its lowest ever level, just 24% - a 29-point fall from 2020.4
Which is why some politicians are starting to murmur that it may be time to change the way the NHS operates. A new NHS consultation is due to examine all the options.
Since its foundation in 1948, the key principle of the NHS has been the idea that it is "free at the point of use": in other words, you should never have to pay for it directly. Instead, the entire service would be funded by taxMoney workers pay to the government to pay for services like roads and hospitals. .
Yet some say the NHS model is not fit for the 21st Century. The problem is this: the NHS is fundedMoney provided for a particular purpose. through taxes, but the bulk of its care is given to retired people who, because they do not work, do not pay taxes. And this section of the population is getting larger.
The new government may come to the same conclusion. The new health secretary, Wes Streeting, has rejected "top-up fees" for services, but some fear his new plan to start sharing patient data with the private sectorThe section of the economy run by private individuals or groups, usually for profit. Their business decisions are free from state control. will allow private companies to profit at the expense of the health service.
Others point out the public does not want wholesale reform. Surveys show British voters are terrified of ending up with a US-style system. Some 34 million Americans say a friend or family member has died because they could not afford medical treatment.5
Is free healthcare impossible?
Yes: We cannot have a service used mostly by one-third of the population but entirely funded by the other two-thirds. It was a good idea once but we cannot sustain it in the present.
No: We get the service we pay for. We just have to accept that if we want a free and equitable healthcare system then we will have to pay more tax to keep it running.
Or... The NHS crisis is part of a broader downward spiral: the economy is barely growing, so people have less money, so they pay less tax, so the government has less money to spend on services, so there is less growth. We have to break the cycle.
Keywords
National Health Service - The publicly funded healthcare system in the UK. The NHS was founded in 1948.
Tax - Money workers pay to the government to pay for services like roads and hospitals.
Funded - Money provided for a particular purpose.
Private sector - The section of the economy run by private individuals or groups, usually for profit. Their business decisions are free from state control.
PM: NHS faces worst crisis in history
Glossary
National Health Service - The publicly funded healthcare system in the UK. The NHS was founded in 1948.
Tax - Money workers pay to the government to pay for services like roads and hospitals.
Funded - Money provided for a particular purpose.
Private sector - The section of the economy run by private individuals or groups, usually for profit. Their business decisions are free from state control.