The NHS must evolve or face a painful death | Ian Birrell Our health service is treated as sacred. But if we want it to survive, now is the time for a frank talk about privatisation.
Politicians have a poor record of fighting the wars of the past rather than facing up to those of the future. Now we see this again amid panic over
Ukip winning a protest election, with corrosive talk over the supposed curse of immigration. The desire of people to come to Britain is a gratifying sign of economic success, yet Westminster is convulsed as parties vie to appear hostile to hard-working migrants.
They ignore an issue of far more profound consequence to national wellbeing: the looming implosion of the health service. Yet as Lord Ashcroft revealed in his latest electoral analysis, nearly
as many voters mention the NHS as immigration as the issue that determines their vote and as financial pressures grow, this will rise up the agenda. It is worth mentioning in passing that the two issues are inextricably linked: Britain's beloved NHS would instantly collapse without the one in four doctors from abroad, let alone all those foreign-born nurses, midwives, porters and cooks.
Continue reading... The Guardian
