This Farage Immigrants with HIV Business

[minestrone]

Why don't you get your missus to go into partnership with some other GPs and setup a private GP practice like these enterprising immigrants?
If these guys were close to me I would certainly use them.
The demand is certainly there - she can get rich and manage her hours - everyone is happy.
When enough people use services like this the NHS can finally wither away.

Sadly she completely refuses to do private work, I have tried for years, she gets paid too much in that place but that will change as the GP contract is being renegotiated in 2017. I think she will just pack it all in at that point.

[Euler]

Sadly she completely refuses to do private work.

For ideological reasons? Jeez.
I think doctors have become like teachers were in the 70s, bastions of unionised and socialised left-wing practices who don't want their privileged positions touched.

TBH people in this country have been brainwashed about healthcare so they believe "private=bad, public=good". Even when the evidence is clearly otherwise.

[minestrone]

Why is this surprising? It's typical of the public sector.

They asked to get laptops with remote access so they could do their referrals and other such paper work at home in the evening. They got told no, then they got told they could have 2 laptops, 2 between 10 doctors.

I don't think I could work in an environment so fooked up for my entire working life.

[Euler]

They asked to get laptops with remote access so they could do their referrals and other such paper work at home in the evening. They got told no, then they got told they could have 2 laptops, 2 between 10 doctors.

I don't think I could work in an environment so fooked up for my entire working life.

Problem is any party that tries to fix this directly is fooked.
The Tories have the right idea - it needs to be done by stealth.
But from what I see most middle class people nowadays are increasingly joining the wealthy in going private. When the numbers are large enough so that, de facto, healthcare is private for a large chunk, then we'll have real reform.

[BlasterBates]

Private health care will mean huge insurance premiums.

Doctors love private patients, they're a real money spinner. You can stuff them full of expensive medication and keep them in hospital for weeks.

Go and look at how expensive it is in the US or Germany for example.

If you want "take home pay" in your pocket the NHS is by far the best solution, you can always top it up with some limited health insurance.

I think anyone here dreaming of private health insurance will regret it when their insurance premiums have been calculated, unless you have deep pockets.

The NHS is not perfect and it can be awkward but it's bl*dy cheap, and if you're on the bench it doesn't cost you a penny. I'm surprised that IT contractors who pay very little NI and hence have completely free health care are advocating it.

When it comes to the NHS, IT contractors are the big winners. Probably saving several hundred pounds a month which is what your insurance premium would be with private healthcare, and with a family probably a grand or more.

Effectively IR35 through the back door.

[d000hg]

But from what I see most middle class people nowadays are increasingly joining the wealthy in going private.

Maybe the top end of middle class earners, but that's only ever going to be a minority. "Middle class" is such a wide bracket that it's fairly unhelpful for generalisations - it probably spans almost an order of magnitude of household income.

[Euler]

Private health care will mean huge insurance premiums.

Doctors love private patients, they're a real money spinner. You can stuff them full of expensive medication and keep them in hospital for weeks.

Go and look at how expensive it is in the US or Germany for example.

If you want "take home pay" in your pocket the NHS is by far the best solution, you can always top it up with some limited health insurance.

I think anyone here dreaming of private health insurance will regret it when their insurance premiums have been calculated, unless you have deep pockets.

The NHS is not perfect and it can be awkward but it's bl*dy cheap, and if you're on the bench it doesn't cost you a penny. I'm surprised that IT contractors who pay very little NI and hence have completely free health care are advocating it.

When it comes to the NHS, IT contractors are the big winners. Probably saving several hundred pounds a month which is what your insurance premium would be.

I think comparing the German and US health systems is bogus.
I would advocate the German not the US system.
Germans are not overburdened with healthcare costs and their systems works efficiently.
It's a public-private partnership.
Yes the NHS is cheap but you get what you pay for: huge waiting lists, inability to see a GP and the worst outcomes for cancer survival in the developed world.
You sound like you've not been ill much, neither have I, but my experience with an elderly relative (MIL) with dementia in the NHS tells me the system is broken.

PS. Any IT contractor who relies on the NHS is an idiot. If you have a long term condition the waiting around and ineffiency will mean you won't be able to hold down a contract. I would say having private insurance as a contractor is a MUST.

[darmstadt]

I think comparing the German and US health systems is bogus.
I would advocate the German not the US system.
Germans are not overburdened with healthcare costs and their systems works efficiently.
It's a public-private partnership.
Yes the NHS is cheap but you get what you pay for: huge waiting lists, inability to see a GP and the worst outcomes for cancer survival in the developed world.
You sound like you've not been ill much, neither have I, but my experience with an elderly relative (MIL) with dementia in the NHS tells me the system is broken.

As a self-employed person, I pay a fair old whack each month (and I had to drop a couple of items to get in below €700 per month) in Germany and then not everything is included, i.e most dentistry work is only subsidised. The service is pretty good but could be better and there's a lot of criticisms of the various health coverage companies, primarily the profits they make.

I could go private which is what the doctors like, you tend to get served quicker, but once you're private here, thats it, you have to stay private, there's no chopping or changing (except for being unemployed.)

[minestrone]

Dementia treatment through the NHS is simply shocking, witnessed it myself.

You can only come to the conclusion the NHS does not work when you see it first hand.

[FatLazyContractor]

The NHS is not perfect and it can be awkward but it's bl*dy cheap, and if you're on the bench it doesn't cost you a penny. I'm surprised that IT contractors who pay very little NI and hence have completely free health care are advocating it.

Of what use is a system when you have to wait till you die for an appointment?

NHS is the biggest disgrace of this country. Social medicine is a complete and utter failure.