I was shocked to read the following excerpt in a recent edition of the Economist about the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS).
“Only 36% of people are satisfied with the NHS, the lowest figure since 1997. Fully 6.6m are on a waiting list for treatment, up from 4.4m on the eve of the covid-19 pandemic. Ambulances are supposed to respond to “category 2” incidents, such as suspected heart attacks and strokes, within 20 minutes. The average in June was 52 minutes. One in ten waited for at least 1 hour and 54 minutes. [Regarding GPs], 47% of patients said they had found it hard to make an appointment with their practice, up from 19% ten years ago.”
These numbers are staggering. More than 10% of the population are on a waiting list for treatment. Furthermore, I can’t imagine a family’s anguish as they desperately hope for an ambulance to arrive and wait for almost an hour whilst their loved one is dealing with a suspected heart attack or stroke.
I had a recent, non-serious experience which brought the problem closer to home. My doctor recommended that I have a series of tests done, and gave me two options: 1) pay £450 to access the tests now, or 2) wait 12-18 months to get it via the NHS.
Fortunately, I was able to pay the fee. I did this because I wanted peace of mind today, not in 547 days time! But with inflation and the current cost of living crisis, some people aren’t able to afford privately funded tests.
All this got me thinking: at what point do people lose faith? When and how does the system find its way out of such a hole? Or is it an intractable problem? And is it possible that the system one day collapses because it can’t keep up with an ageing population?
I don’t have answers, but I have a lot of concerns.