>>automatically rejected
>> by those on the left. “Free at the point of use” is their mantra.
Is it? Not by me, although it's a tricky thing. People don't properly value "free" stuff and whilst some people will think "I don't need to put the NHS to time and trouble for a trivial ache when I can buy paracetamol myself", others don't care.
A doctor friend of mine (retired) who died recently started his GP career long ago with a partner who was in at the start of the NHS. He was told possibly apocryphal stories of patients who called the doctor out in the middle of the night for a complaint that had been troubling them for years. "If you've had this for years why have you called me out at night?" - "I know my rights!".
Even a small fee prompts a decision as to whether something is really necessary.
I think it would be worth trying to come up with a system that works without costing more than it raises, and without deterring the needy from seeking necessary help.
I have said before we should look hard at the French system. There's something very civilised about France, I think that whenever I go there.
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