Perhaps if its customers didn't abuse the NHS in the way they are allowed then its funding may well be appropriate.

Whilst ever the mentality of the greater majority of the population is that the NHS is free and they treat it as such you will always have systematic abuse of a very valuable offering full of highly skilled and dedicated individuals.

Don't just throw money at it - get it in a fit state and then start investing.

I tend to agree - and I can be uncharacteristically right wing about this particular issue, given that we are currently facing an epidemic of a disease that is almost entirely based on lifestyle, and is creating a crisis in the NHS in and of itself.

That said - I think getting the NHS in a fit state would first require some money, to address the chronic underfunding by successive governments; then perhaps have it reformed and redesigned - with clinicians and practitioners in the driving seat, rather than politicians and management consultants.

The NHS should not carry out things like cosmetic surgery (other than where required 'medically'). One of the biggest drain in my experience seems to be people using A&E instead of a GP for non emergencies. These people tend not to be native Brits. One wonders whether some are even legally here. The NHS need to ensure that they only treat emergencies in A&E and those who have a valid NHS card / number. If somebody doesn't they should be directed to the nearest private practice of charge up front before being seen.

Wow, unless you have actual knowledge of the patient throughput in A & E "tend not to be native Brits" is one hell of a statement.
AND you know that "they" should have gone to see their GP as well

Are you the editor for The Daily Mail ?

The biggest "drain" on the NHS is the massive spend on an ageing population, who tend to need an increasing amount of care as they get older, FACT.
40% of the NHS budget is spent on the over 65's - FACT
Per person it's the over 85's who have the most spent on them individually - FACT

To make the kind of genaralisations that you have here is just plain wrong and you obviously have some personal agenda for saying such things.

Hey Dr House, by "in my experience" do you mean "what the daily mail tells me" because unless you work the floors in a&e you have absolutely no room to talk

Regards

King James

I'm extremely right wing about this issue, I think most people are. The last couple of times I reluctantly had to go to A&E it made my blood boil the amount of dangerously overweight parents who were waiting with their equally overweight, pasty faced looking kids sat sniffling and wheezing. Then when the kid starts to get a bit restless the solution is for Mum to buy treats from the vending machine to keep the kid quiet while Dad nips out for an ironic smoke. Yeah, because that's exactly what they need!

A trip to A&E is a real eye opener to the type of people who are draining the resources of the NHS, the ones who joyously celebrate the opening of a Krispy Kreme or use the McDonald's drive-thru because they don't even have to leave the car and can smoke while they wait.

Ignoring the Daily Mail headline writer who posted previously; you're absolutely right - and I refer you back to my original point - elderly people resort to the NHS because the social care services that used to support them in the community are no longer available, or have been massively cut back. And once they end up in hospital, it's difficult to discharge them, for the same reason.

With regard to the self-inflicted diabetes epidemic - I'm not sure what the answer is; until we arrive at some dystopic dark future where calories are rationed based on what is required to maintain a healthy body weight, I guess it will continue apace.

Junk food giants are far too big to do anything about, they could pretty much hold the government to ransom with threats to the precious economy. Then again, the tough stance on smoking with the bans in public places, warnings on packaging and not being able to have them on show in shops went down without too much of a fuss. It's a matter of how addictive junk food is compared to nicotine?

As Wrencat says, wow.

The whole food industry is to blame - but since we in the West are addicted to fat and sugar and convenience, I have no idea how the genie can be put back into the bottle. And how do you ban stupid, lazy people cramming more food down their necks than they could ever possibly need, and not moving around enough?