[lettie]

Pendy is absolutely right, a free, basic service was meant to be provided to all but science has moved on and people's expectations have become higher. People are living longer and this means that they are using services for longer. The fact that we have a much older population is a clear indication that the NHS (both hospital and community care and health promotion) has worked.

Fewer people die from infectious diseases, we have good vaccination programmes and better disease treatments than we had pre- NHS.

Infant and maternal mortality rates are significantly lower than pre-NHS figures, more mothers and babies are surviving pregnancy and childbirth - yes... pregnancy can kill you. However, more women are now getting pregnant who could not (or were advised not to) previously get pregnant eg, people with cardiac problems, diabetes and older ladies. This creates multiple problems for the patient and the midwives/doctors. Multiple births are now higher due to assisted conceptions and this creates yet more problems of extremely premature babies who are at risk of respiratory problems and infections.

We have goodness knows how many immigrants coming to this country on a yearly basis, both legally and illegally....Again, they sometimes require healthcare and are yet another drain on the system. This government has vastly exaggerated how many extra nurses are practicing in this country. When you check out the NMC website, which contains details of every registered nurse, midwife, public health nurse in this country, it is nowhere near the figure that the government are quoting.

I could argue the toss forever on this one, but the fact is that the NHS is a bottomless pit where money is concerned. It is impossible to fund everything that people think that they need. With every successive change of government and every change that the government decides upon, things get more expensive and people want more.... for example, free IVF treatment, corrective operations for cosmetic treatment etc.

I am glad that we have an NHS and for the most part, I feel that we do a damned good job under increasingly difficult circumstances. I certainly know thousands of people who would have died if it had not been for those services. I can see the day when the NHS will go private, it has already started to happen. You can see the trends towards private care when you look at information on PCTs and Foundation Trusts. When things go private, people in this country will be in for a shock but I reckon that it is being done with stealth and at such a slow pace that the powers that be are hoping that nobody notices.

Patricia Hewitt, the Health Minister may sit in her ivory tower and tell joe public that everything in the NHS is being improved but just remember...... This woman has no health background, she was a social worker... What do most social workers know about the NHS? Nothing...