The public health care system is not doing well and new treatments may be needed to revive it, according to more than 600 residents interviewed in a recent Gallup poll. However, the system in question is not Canada's, but the UK's National Health Service (NHS).
Eighty-five percent of respondents interviewed in the poll, conducted for the Daily Telegraph, said Britain's health care system was "in somewhat failing health" or doing "very poorly indeed." Only 2% said it was in "peak condition."
About 1 in 8 respondents felt that the British system can carry on nicely as it currently exists, but 85% felt that the system is unlikely to survive without a large infusion of cash. There was less agreement about where that money should come from. Surprisingly, a significant majority (67%) said they would be prepared to pay a hefty tax increase - $375 a year - if they could be assured the money was going solely to the NHS. FIGURE
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Figure.
When asked if money from the national lottery should go to health care, respondents were more divided, although 62% said some or all of the money should go to the NHS.
There was a noticeable split over the question of collaboration with the private sector. Although 58% of respondents thought there should be "a fair amount" or "a great deal" of collaboration between the public and private sectors, 36% did not look upon such a relationship favourably.
When asked where the money should come from to fund the NHS, 83% of respondents said the funds should come "almost entirely" from tax revenue. Sound familiar?