Lewisham Hospital - warning over Woolwich and Farnborough capacity (From News Shopper)

Is this the same Queen Elizabeth Hospital that will offer the Lewisham public a better health service? Worrying times ahead.

Reports in today's national newspapers state that the NHS is outperformed by almost every other EU member state...

...Is it in any way connected to the fact that the NHS is the only ideologically based Ill-health facility on the earth (barring Cuba!)...?

...The more successful examples, use a mixture of public/private funds, and services tend not to be under government control...

The old "from cradle to grave" mantra is not employed so much by government these days... It is keeping quiet about the fact that it has absolutely no idea how to estimate requirements.

The constant closure of services, despite a rising population has been continuing apace since 1948 and is now, as this article demonstrates becoming a tad dangerous.

Alternatively, an ill-health service that is based on private provision that is publicly funded from a derogated universal fund, would rapidly lead to a "demand system" health economy. Which means that private businesses, local associations, national associations, charities, churches, enterprising local councils might decide, for one reason or another, that a particular service is required in a particular area and set out to provide it...

...no post-code lottery, if the service is no longer required, it will no longer operate, should a provider take shortcuts or hire nincompoops for doctors and nurses, it will go out of business...

...The benefits of such a system are clear... The benefits of the current system are very hard to see, and must be regarded as the greatest joke that was ever paid on the people of these islands... Now only maintained in this manner for reasons of ideology, and civil service job protection.

I think that the Russians, the Chinese, the Vietnamese and any others that were overt Marxists have learnt by bitter experience that the "command" economy just doesn't work.

Unfortunately in Britain we have a covert form of Marxism, operating only within government services, and so people don't see the system's drawbacks, which are unsurmountable.

I was in the hospital in Farnborough and all you heard for at least 18 hours a day was the phones ringing in the wards. Being nosey I asked why and was told it was hospitals/other wards asking if there were any empty beds.
As the patients were getting out of them to go home or transfer to another hospital
the bed was stripped, remade and a person in it within minutes!