What Are the Arguments In Favour Of Private Health Care? Essay

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... ...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.