[Bri w]

So other countries allegedlly have better facilities...

I've seen hospitals in Germany, Holland, France, Greece, & Spain. In all the countries mentioned each has hospitals that are better than ours and worse. I've had staff go out to Holland, France, Norway, Sweden, Greece, Saudi & Spain because their own staff couldn't cope with their workload - and they're better than us(?).

Rather than post up a load of anecdotal evidence of what good and bad in each country lets just cut to the nub of what the proposed changes are all about. Its about redirecting of the funding to make best use of it, and its about privatisation of various parts of it.

Privatisation has been going on for years, e.g. regional dialysis centres & national diagnostic centres. Pretty much every hospital site has private clinics on it from which the NHS buys services.

Redirecting the funding to specific clinical areas and regional areas will, as Jen says, create further post code provision and hence larger areas akin to healthcare deserts - strangely enough if you go out in the sticks in some of the countries mentioned above, Spain, Portugal, Greece, you have exactly that.

So just what is wrong with the NHS? The infrastructure, and hence the finances, can't cope with the population. The choices are more money but that isn't available, get tougher with medical tourists, reduce the available specialities free at the point of use. Or move the funding to other Managers (GP's in this instance) and ask them to achieve better provision with the less money... recipe for disaster.

As Bibio says, do you think there'll be a reduction in tax if medical insurance becomes a necessity? Of course there will, just like Council Tax when Water Rates were seperated from it, and sold off to private companies.

If you are happy to go down the road that will see a further increase in postcode provision of service, and ultimately the need for medical insurance on top of what you already pay for don't sign the petition.