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Showing posts from October, 2016

Could private top-up insurance help fund the NHS?

This article first appeared in the BMJ Current tax revenues cannot maintain healthcare standards, writes  Christopher Smallwood , but  David Wrigley  worries that introducing inequity sounds the death knell of a service free for all who need it Yes—Christopher Smallwood It is hardly controversial to suggest that standards of healthcare in the NHS are declining. A stream of recent reports has shown the strain the NHS is under, drawing attention to a near universal failure to meet the target of four hours’ waiting time in emergency departments, 1  the longest waiting times for operations since 2007, and unprecedented staff shortages.  The principal cause of this lamentable state of affairs is unquestionably underfinancing of the system. In 2012-13, few trusts were in deficit but by 2015-16 the proportion had reached 85%. 2  As the King’s Fund has said, we are “facing a health system buckling under the strain of huge financial pressures.” 2 Current problems are set to inte