What Are the Arguments In Favour Of Private Health Care?

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What Are the Arguments In Favour Of Private Health Care?

Privatisation is a word which is commonly used to describe the

practice of medical patients 'going private' and paying for the

services of GPs, hospital doctors or hospital provision, rather than

using the NHS. Privatisation can also be used to describe the charge

imposed for such health care services such as drugs, appliances,

dentures and spectacles.

There are many arguments which are in favour of private health care in

Britain, such as that private treatment is not the luxury that most

people seem to think it is. Most people believe it is a treatment that

only rich people can afford. This however, is simply not true as

patients in the independent sector now represent a cross section

through group insurance schemes.

Another positive side to private health care is that a lot of pressure

is taken away from the NHS when people turn to private medicine. The

NHS receives much needed additional income from private patients who

use their 'pay beds'. Also, a number of hospitals offer courses in

basic nurse training and post qualification specialist training. This

can also benefit the NHS as these nurses can leave the private sector

at any time to work for the NHS if they wish.

Private practices enable hospital consultants to receive enough

earnings similar to those they could gain from working the same job

abroad. This helps prevent the so-called 'brain drain' of our much

needed hospital consultants. Additionally private hospitals and

private insurance companies have, in the past, donated pieces of

equipment to the to the NHS hospitals, to be used by both the public

and private patients.

Another factor that supports the argument of private heal...

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...tates that PFI is a vital part

of its plans to expand and modernise the public sector and that using

the private sector can mean better value for money. PFI has now become

Labour's favourite way of paying for new schools and hospitals and

they are soon to expand it to cover projects such as roads and

bridges. The government have promised that under PFI, the extra cash

the government is pouring into the NHS and other public services, will

not be wasted and they will also make it possible to buy back

buildings when PFI contracts expire and return them to public control.

As you can see, there are many advantages to private health care and

PFI, despite the number of people who continually criticise the

system. As with all projects, there are disadvantages and flaws,

however the government are continually working on ways in which to

improve the organization.

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