It is about time politicians and the public wake up out of their coma. Dan Hannan tells some home truths about the NHS and suddenly politicians across the country are required to swear allegiance to that great behemoth.
The NHS has always caused much controversy. Clearly all sides of the debate are guilty of taking individual cases and extrapolating general truths from them, yet the reality is that in both theory and practice the NHS is an awful system for providing healthcare.
Let us not forget that because we have the NHS:
- it is only the very wealthy who get a truly world-class healthcare as it is only they who can afford to pay twice.
- politicians are interferes in the way we choose to live ours lives – and increasingly so.
- healthcare is rationed – and increasingly so.
- public money is wasted on ineffective pseudo-medicine.
- 250,000 people are still waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment.
Of course, the US healthcare system also needs reform, but instead of looking across the Atlantic, Obama could learn a thing or two from the Cato Institute. And as a matter fact, so could most of our politicians.
