National Health Service Essay

The NHS stands for the National Health Service, which provides healthcare for all UK citizens based on their need for healthcare rather than their ability to pay for it. It is fully funded by full-time workers taxes. The aim of the health service is to ensure that anyone can receive the medical care they need, regardless of their age, circumstances or financial situation. Advantages * To meet the needs of everyone * To be free at the point of delivery * The NHS provides care free of charge to most UK residents * Depending on the nature of your problem you may be treated by a doctor, dentist or optician * There are is a range of healthcare services offered by the NHS, covering every concern from flu to vaccinations, mental illness to ectopic pregnancy care. * When you seek help because you feel unwell, the medical practitioner you visit will be able to inform you of the care options available to you. * Every person in England having access to his or her own confidential medical records. * Helpdesk service available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Disadvantages * Long waiting lists * Your situation of needing care may not be as important as others * They may use low quality equipment on you because you are not paying for the treatment, therefore your health issue may not be resolved as quickly or properly with incorrect equipment. * People will abuse the system by using is too much when it is not necessary or they have not paid taxes sufficiently.- The United States is now the only remaining MEDC country without some form of free access to a medical service, Partly because policy debates are driven by false, self defeating beliefs. One thought of this is that the United States cannot afford to cover the uninsured, when in fact a coordinated financing system is the key tool for holding costs down, and there are affordable ways to do it. Also many believe that the United States is so large and diverse that any lessons one might benefit from a smaller and less diverse countries do not apply here. Universal health care system would mean low salaries, rundown facilities, poor quality, and endless waits to see a doctor, as a good example of this is with the NHS. The current/ new NHS * The plan for the new NHS by the present government is even more ambitious than the transformation by Margaret Thatcher. * The NHS was widely discussed as no longer sustainable or no longer affordable. Therefor the rate of Tax has been increased largely. * Demands are rising, as are costs. And this is all happening at a time when money is tighter than ever. * Two thirds of hospital beds are now estimated to be occupied by the over 65s at any one time. * Nurses have been given a lot more responsibility. * IVF treatment is helping thousands of couples conceive each year. * Organ transplants are now saving over 3,000 lives a year. * Obesity, drinking and smoking. All three cause disease and death, adding billions of pounds to the NHS bill.