New Zealand have spent the majority of the last two years under less restrictions than the UK currently has in place (yes including freedom day!).
And here is Japan (for those arguing size, density, travel hub, etc…)
And here is somewhere closer to home….
And finally here is Singapore, who actually base their Covid guidelines on the British Pneumonia guideline…
And yet they have had less Covid deaths…
A lot less, > 10 times less
No or even less excess all-cause deaths
And the UK’s economy didn’t fair any better than our freedoms
And all our freedoms and all the deaths didn’t manage to save our economy….
Time to admit:
This Government took our money, our freedoms, and still let Covid ravage our country…killing >100k, disabling many more, buckling our health service and shafting our economy.
No doubt Covid did the direct damage, but it neither had to nor did it have to cause the mounting indirect damage.
It was Johnson’s Government backed by a party simply not up to the task of governing when the nation needed it most.
And it’s not over yet!
Time to own it:
This Government took our money, our freedoms, and still let Covid ravage our country…killing >100k, disabling many more, buckling our health service and shafting our economy.
No doubt Covid did the direct damage, but it neither had to nor did it have to cause the mounting indirect damage.
It was Johnson’s Government backed by a party simply not up to the task of governing when the nation needed it most.
And it’s not over yet!
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Given some so called patriots want a French healthcare system, let’s take a look at it.
🧵
Summary: social insurance with 95% of people taking private healthcare to cover copays. Costs £40bn per year more. Less equitable than NHS, but can turn a profit
1/10
Akin to some other European countries, France uses a social insurance based model predominantly - where employer and employee pay a means-tested insurance premium
but unlike most EU countries the French people pay a surcharge on pretty much everything they access or use
This has led to 95% of the population taking out private insurance.
This is an insurance premium (on top of the social insurance premium) that is in part based on likelihood of needing health care - older people paying more.
Some good policies but overall disappointing and a bit concerning.
A summary thread
1/x
1. There is the title: Build an NHS Fit for the Future
In one way, fair enough. Buildings are outdated and crumbling and IT is hopeless
But, Labour seems oblivious to the fact the NHS leads the world in medical and surgical care. The issue is merely access not tech upgrades.
2. "publicly owned and funded" is meaningless. Even the deranged health system of the U.S. has a publicly funded component - waiting lists are horrendous and access to treatment is very limited.
We want universal access to all available treatments - quite different!
Nuffield Trust reports this week on a massive increase in private provision
More worrying, a massive surge in people using their savings to access care
From the best health system to one of the worst in 14yrs!
Summary 🧵
The amount the NHS pays (this is our tax money) to the private sector has nearly doubled in five years…
From £1.66b to £3.1b
2/9
This is catastrophic for the future of our health system
It’s based on political targets superseding clinical ones - Managers wanting to please whoever the latest Health Sec is versus prioritising clinical needs
Urgent and primary care should be priorities not GE fodder!
3/9
My obligation is to my patients, whoever they are and wherever they live.
But I want to work in the NHS…
Selfishly speaking, I appreciate not having to say no to treatments because a patient can’t afford it..
But…
🧵 1/6
After 14 yrs of Tory rule and a cowed and complicit NHS Leadership, patients are being denied treatment due to lack of resources. It is hard to witness, day in and day out.
The very principal of the NHS - access for all - no longer exists!
2/6
So do I blame any doctor seeking work elsewhere? Absolutely not. Better to survive and help patients than to be broken by a system that makes treating patients harder and harder, in a country increasingly polarised. Staying in the NHS now can be very damaging for staff.
3/6