Comments by "Steve Parker" (@steveparker8065) on "The ambulance system like the rest of the NHS is in tatters" video.

Agreed, The NHS in the 70s was fully funded, we had family doctors, no waiting lists, and twice the beds we have now run far more efficiently for a lower cost. The problem now is overpriced contracts, layers of admin and management, debt from private finance, sale of profitable NHS assets and essentially soft privatisation. I'd love to compare the amount of profits taken out of the NHS by shareholders these days in comparison to the 70s. I'm sure that would be very telling about where the taxpayer money is going. We have 1 in 10 people on NHS waiting lists, I've been on an urgent list waiting for an appointment for over a year.
11
Aww, bless Theresa May she used to be considered one of the worst PMs in history, who would have thought the Tories would have produced a succession of far worse PMs so quickly and efficiently...
3
@stevec700 Like a leech on a main artery.
1
@blackbeard6423 I agree with the sentiment, but no. We already pay enough in a variety of taxes. We need to remove profiteering from the NHS and get back to how it used to be. We also need to tax wealth, people who don't work for a living at the top of society pay less than 1%. While a large percentage of the money we put into the NHS goes into the accounts of shareholders, putting up taxes just increases the amount of our taxes that go to the private sector.
1
@blackbeard6423 We have increased funding of around 170 billion (since the pandemic) in the NHS but this is being wasted. Most of that money goes to private companies, not to the NHS. Our GDP is just under 3 trillion. We pay through taxes and N.I. contributions and had a far more efficient service years ago before the Tories sold off assets and increased outsourcing, management, admin etc Blair also played his part by using John Major's PFIs which the Tories extended until 2035 while adding another layer via PFI2. I'm saying that the money is being wasted on contracts with big pharma that charges 10x the cost of generic medications for brand names, excessive admin and management on huge salaries, the sale of profitable NHS assets, the cost of outsourcing and soft privatisation coupled with private finance is draining the funds. Not to mention until recently the underfunding of the NHS. The huge cost of legal cases due to mismanagement. We could pay for the 100,000 staff shortage, the increase in wages for staff and funding new hospitals and emergency stations by simply removing these drains on resources. As for the 1% have a look at the richest people in Britain list and then compare that to the list of highest taxpayers in Britain, you'll find the richest aren't there In the highest taxpayers list. This is because we don't tax wealth, we tax income from work. The richest don't work, they invest and take money from other sources while avoiding inheritance tax, using tax loopholes and creative accounting. The money to have an excellent health service is already in place, it's being siphoned off to shareholders and wasted through mismanagement. PS you seem to be talking about health and social care in general as regards the elderly comment, immigrants have nothing to do with it they pay their share, the subject is the NHS!
1
@blackbeard6423 Search for some of these sentences and read the articles. "In the year to April 2017, £7.1bn worth of NHS clinical contracts were awarded through an NHS tendering process, according to a report by the NHS Support Federation. Since the Health and Social Care Act came into force in 2013, which stipulated that “any qualified” provider could bid for NHS contracts, spending on non-NHS providers has totalled around £25bn. “The number of contracts awarded to the private sector has increased sevenfold since the act came into force,” says Paul Evans, director of the NHS Support Federation. He adds that for-profit companies won £3.1bn worth of new contracts in 2016-17, 43% of the total value of those advertised."
1
@blackbeard6423 How is it possible that you can invert the meaning of everything I've said? the Tories have sold the NHS to the highest bidder through the Health and Social Care act by allowing for-profit organisations to get the lion's share of new contracts. Most of the companies have a poor record on patient safety and are a huge drain on NHS resources via their profit requirements. I've given you the facts and I haven't said the NHS doesn't deserve more money or that the staff don't deserve to have wages that rise with inflation. If you don't have the capacity to read and interpret the English language and follow the information I've given you to do a little research, then I'm wasting my time. Seriously reread what I've typed as many times as you need to until you understand it. You certainly haven't understood hardly anything I've said so far.
1