‘Free at the point of use’ has had its day. Other European countries use alternative models without the poor suffering, so why can’t we?
With no extra money available to resource a “seven-day health service” properly, the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, can only attempt to achieve this reform by stretching existing resources across seven days rather than five. Without more money, this means worsening doctors’ conditions of work. The doctors, whose union Hunt labelled “totally irresponsible”, have spotted this.
So the fundamental cause of the threatened doctors’ strike, as so often, is the underfunding of the NHS. Which points up an urgent question: how can we break through the current constraints to a properly resourced health service, offering good working conditions as well as excellent care? The question is pressing because the financial squeeze continues to tighten.
Related: Jeremy Hunt’s ‘24/7’ plan for the NHS proves it – he should be sacked | Jullien Gaer
A complementary insurance system could in time provide additional funds financing, say, a quarter of NHS activities
Related: My placards: ‘I’m fed up with the spin around the junior doctor strike’
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