Europe, UK (Commonwealth Union) – The 7 parties battled the issues on the ITV election debate. From the many issue that were drawn into focus was the funding of the National Health Service (NHS). The debate over how to fund a free healthcare service has been a global issue. The debate drew its attention as to how funding
The NHS in the United Kingdom has been a cornerstone of the country’s healthcare system since its inception on July 5th in 1948. Funded primarily through general taxation, the NHS has provided free healthcare to millions of people over the years. However, recent financial pressures, an aging population, and increasing demand for services have led to concerns about the sustainability of the NHS’s funding model.
At present the funding Model for the NHS is primarily through general taxation, with additional contributions from National Insurance and patient charges for certain services. In 2021/2022, the NHS budget was approximately £152.6 billion, accounting for a significant portion of the UK’s total public expenditure. The government sets an annual budget for the NHS, which is then distributed among various healthcare providers, such as hospitals, clinics, and general practitioners.
The crisis of the NHS with waiting list has been attributed by the current conservative government to the pandemic. The pandemic had caused a severe strain health systems across the globe which was followed by the economy taking a hit due to lockdowns.
Raising taxes to solve the issue was common theme among most of the parties however Nigel Farage indicated that raising taxes will result in professions leaving.
Representing the Conservatives at the debate Penny Mordaunt, Leader of the House of Commons said “They want results and in my experience, listening to people who are actually doing these jobs – police officers who have reduced crime by half over the time we’ve been in office, healthcare professionals who are coming up with amazing initiatives in our hospitals and in our GP surgeries, teachers who are responsible now have 90 per cent of our schools good or outstanding. Listen to the professionals in those services, keep political dogma out of it.”
This was a response to the private sectors possible involvement being used to resolve the current crisis in the NHS.
The question of resolving the crisis in a public health care crisis has been a complicated issue across the globe with opponents of the private sector stating that it paves the way for the best doctors and facilities to go to the selected few who can afford it however the elimination of the private sector could also put a further strain on the public sector and in the case of the current crisis in the UK further strain the waiting lists.
