My take.
The sooner we understand that the NHS is apolitical. Ie it really doesn't matter if the Tories, UKIP, Labour, Socialist Workers Party or anyone else are in power, it will NEVER be able to keep up with demand.
An aging population, immigration, people going for inappropriate reasons, alcohol consumption, allowing multiple fertility treatments, the growth of cosmetic surgery on the NHS and so on.
We can rant about striking, the "evil Tories" and lack of funding, but the facts are the NHS is a behemoth that consumes more and more of our taxes and will never have enough.
If we remove the political bias, we need to start making some tough choices about what treatments are NHS and what need to be the personal responsibility of the individual. And of course means testing will be required as well to protect the poor.
One way is public private partnership, NOT privatisation. There is no way the politicians will ever privatise it, as they know it is a massive voting suicide note, but I suspect you already know that when you are venting about "privatisation". If you have proof of complete privatisation I would love to hear it, but even the "bete noire" Thatcher never dared to do that, you think a slimy weakling like Cameron will? I don't think so!
And yes, we need to talk about another penny or more on NI, and this time actually USE that penny on front line NHS and not prop up pensions or use it for other political purposes. I suspect most people will go with a small raise in NI.
So time to face some apolitical truths people, time to realise that we cannot keep blindly blaming successive governments and look at ourselves.
As for "using" his son. I don't like Cameron, or indeed wierdy Milliband, but can we not conceive that he might actually really be grateful as a father for the treatment his disabled son had on the NHS? Have we become that politically hardened that our hearts are stone? I hope not.
Some things need to be brought above politics, both people's and politicians. No offence my friends, but rants like ours are part of the problem not the solution. The NHS is still there, it will be there in a decade, the discussion is what cash will it need, are we able and willing to fund it, will we be responsible and not overuse it and can we control the demand on it by not overpopulating the country.
PS this probably should all be in the politics thread!
