To improve the NHS by spending more money, something else needs to give :
- pay more tax and have less disposable income - extra pay to cover the extra tax does not work
- cut other government expenditure - but what
- borrow more money - interest rates increase - there is no magic money tree
The alternatives - uncomfortable though they may seem - need ruthless implementation:
- improve management, cut waste, quickly
- charge for services - eg: £25 for a GP visit could raise £7-8bn pa, £100 for A&E £2.5bn
- apply to all - not like prescriptions where 90% are issued free
- increase inheritance tax to recover care costs - taxpayers effectively fund larger legacies
- sort out social care - it has been a shambles for decades.
The NHS "free at the point of delivery" may have been a worthy intent 75 years ago - the world has changed - services and funding need to be radically overhauled.
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