Hannan, Cameron, and the Leech that is the NHS

Make no mistake about it, I am no fan of the NHS. It is a colossal, glaring, idiotic waste of money these days. Sure, I know that there are people within the NHS who work hard and do good deeds. But the whole thing is a bureaucratic nightmare; a money pit capable of consuming this country's whole economy before burping, then demanding the same thing again. It is not a national treasure; it is a drain on the nation and our failure to debate the rights and the wrongs of the NHS is a national disgrace. At its most effective - which was probably sometime in 1947 - the NHS was a useful entity. Now, when we see it at its worst - which is a lot of the time - it resembles nothing more than a festering sore on the United Kingdom. Or a virulent infection. Possibly caught from a dirty ward in an NHS hospital. 

And as a result of the above I believe that Daniel Hannan's comments on the NHS represent common sense*. He seems to be one of the few politicians who embrace the idea that the future of healthcare might not be entirely down to the NHS. Sure, I don't think his actual words - which show the same rhetorical flourish that made his vicious yet entertaining attack on Gordon Brown so famous - help the cause of having a debate in this country, but I think his sentiments are spot on. 

Inevitably, though, not everyone agrees. Particularly not the person most likely to be our next Prime Minister. Cameron writes:

Millions of people are grateful for the care they have received from the NHS - including my own family. One of the wonderful things about living in this country is that the moment you're injured or fall ill - no matter who you are, where you are from, or how much money you've got - you know that the NHS will look after you.

Now, it is pushing it a bit to say I am grateful for what the NHS has done for me in the past. It provides a service, like other service providers that help me in day to day life, I'm glad that they are there. But to say I am grateful is really pushing it. After all, I go to Sainsbury's and get a service from them. In return for taking my money, they provide food. I'm not grateful for what they do, just pleased that the transaction is done and I get what I've paid for. Which is exactly how I feel when I have used the NHS. See, I pay for the NHS, so I expect some sort of service in return. Cameron's use of the word "grateful" makes me think that the NHS is doing me some sort of favour when they treat me. They aren't. They are providing the service I pay for through taxes and National Insurance. 

Furthermore, being grateful would actually mean I get a good service. Sadly, with the NHS, that seldom happens these days. It doesn't matter where you are from, or who you are, or what money you have - you are still going to get generally rather shitty service from the NHS. It will look after you; often in a slipshod, disinterested, condescending and utterly inhuman way. Don't believe me? Well, walk into A&E with a non-threatening illness/injury and see how you get on. 

This idea - espoused by leading politicians of all parties in this country - that the NHS deserves to be treated with reverence because it is free at the generally rather shitty point of service. Despite the flaws in the way he delivered his message, Hannan has simply voiced the thoughts of many people in this country who see the NHS as something in desperate need of radical reform, rather than being promoted as the best this country has to offer and a model for other countries to use for their healthcare systems. Cameron's empty cant highlights he has nothing to offer other than the status quo on one of the key issues facing us today - namely, what the hell we do with the NHS. 

*They certainly aren't unpatriotic. And when Andy Burnham and other stupid tools like him spout that sort of rhetoric, they come across as the sort of unthinking idiotic drones who should only exist in the former Soviet Union. They have nothing to do with Britain in the 21st Century.