Corbyn will never be Prime Minister

[seahermit]

It is not actually accurate to say that the NHS is free at the point of use. Many people pay prescription charges (those who are reckoned to be financially able to do so), many surgical procedures (especially cosmetic ones) are not available for free and the system is heavily geared towards essential and emergency treatments.

Maybe that is how "broadband for all" should be considered. The provision of free internet access in libraries all over the UK was an excellent move, a boon to students, travellers and anyone else for whom acquiring a computer was either too expensive or inconvenient. I don't see why that philosophy could not in some way be extended - but haven't the faintest idea about the practicalities! Would households be expected to pay for their landlines (if they wanted them) but somehow get internet for free? What about those people whose internet use is intertwined with TV , film downloads, Netflix-type websites? The complications are starting to look horrendous.

In listing my own poor experiences with internet and mobile access, the point I was making (in an admittedly long-winded way) was that I think free broadband is a red herring. I believe most people would be happy with a low and reasonable charge for internet access, but it is the very variable and inefficient quality of delivery which is the problem. In return for which consumers have to battle and shop around to find affordable deals - until their contract ends and the price is hiked up again! The whole thing is completely inequitable and should have been properly regulated years ago.

[cbe]

Another of my posts seems to have gone AWOL. I will take a sabbatical from the site.

[Richard]

Don't forget free internet zones are available at many locations across the U.K.
London is covered in hotspots from The Cloud that give you 15 minutes of free WiFi daily, as well as the public networks BT WiFi and O2. Since 2012, mobile operator O2 rolled out the free internet to millions of residents and visitors in central London by launching Europe’s largest free WiFi zone for the Olympics.
Beyond the capital, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, and Nottingham. are among the ‘wireless cities’ offering free access to their centres. Many chains like Pizza Express, Pret A Manger, McDonald’s, Punch Taverns, Marriott Hotels and various London Underground stations also offer WiFi (free to their subscribers, otherwise a paid-for service), and in many London Overground stations.
These services for travelers away from home would still be needed even if 'free' broadband were ever delivered to the home.
O2 provides free WIFI for the public and if you are a paying customer you get extra services, now 5G, I believe:

https://news.o2.co.uk/2019/10/17/o2-goe ... in-london/

[ColinL]

Little Seahermit trying to deflect an argument and failing to succeed about the NHS. Prescription charges have unfortunately been with us for decades.

However I have never been charged for a hospital bed, or for MRI or CT scans or for my food as an in patient. No bills come my way for a meeting with my consultant, or when telephoning to speak to nursing staff. A & E no bills whatsoever. Dentistry is different unfortunately.

If a person wants to have their breast enlarged or to get rid of non-life changing wrinkles that is not a matter of health that is one of vanity and rightly sits within the private sector where a person can choose to be cut about. There are some procedures that may appear to be cosmetic but the thing ailing the person, may have an effect on their psychological well being and are done as an NHS case.

The NHS is free at the point of use

[seahermit]

I said that many people pay prescription charges but the system is heavily geared towards essential and emergency treatments. ColinL finds the need to say almost the same thing in a hundred words. What a curious creature he is! There is almost a knee-jerk reaction, to try to nit-pick some detail so as to score a point off an opponent!

[Richard]

That's Lawyers for you, scoring points off opponents!

I agree the NHS is geared toward necessary treatments - using some form of risk assessment.
It is a well-worn phrase to say 'free at the point of use'.
It is 'free at the point of need' that would seem to be more appropriate.
If you have a painful condition that is not so dangerous, but may need treatment eventually, it will usually be evaluated only after so many months to see what is happening, rather than operating swiftly. If the condition is serious enough it is a different matter of course.
If you feel unable to manage for many months in discomfort and pain then private arrangements can be made by paying to 'queue-jump. You may be lucky enough to have private insurance cover from a company you work(ed) for.

example 6 months wait for a hip / hernia operation is normal unless you pay several thousands to speed it up. This leads to the complaint about a two-speed NHS system.
There are then bound to be cases where evaluation of the seriousness of the problem leads to a few unfortunate deaths or complaints, as we have seen in the headlines.

[ColinL]

It takes the number of words necessary to explain a point in sufficient detail. By contrast little seahermit is the one doing the 'nit-picking' by stating that some non-medically required treatments have to be paid for, and rightly so.

NHS free at the point of use.
(A&E, necessary operations,consultations, in-patient cost free,follow up and review)

Is that few enough words for you?

[Richard]

Not sure about the Corbyn/Boris debate last night.
Boris kept hammering home the question that Corbyn refused to reply about, whether he wanted to leave or remain.
I believe at the time of the last general election in 2017 Corbyn vowed to honour the results of the referendum, now he wants another and presumably will accept the outcome of that.
If 'remain' is voted in next time then will the EU block all Labour's much trumpeted re-nationalisation plans under the EU's Anti State Aid rules ?
Plus how is allowing the US to tender to supply drugs to the NHS, Sellling Out the NHS ?
The NHS should be free to buy @ best price

The 17.5 million people who voted to leave will vote Tory or Brexit Party. People who don't believe in democracy will vote Lib Dem (ironic name) & the people who think the world owes them a living will vote Labour.

[cbe]

On a sabbatical. but I had to just say that I think your final paragraph is spot on

[Richard]

Off topic but I had to laugh.
The thought of seahermit reclining, in pink carpet slippers and a hairnet, whenever ColinL tells him off.
No, actually it was that having received my polling card for the election, stating a different polling address to normal, I then received a letter to explain the unavailability of the usual venue, a school hall I think.
And then a further letter giving yet another venue, allegedly because the first replacement address was not physically accessible to everyone.
It was a rushed job by the sound of it - I hope they have settled down for now.