The National Institute for Health and Clinical Guidelines (Nice) has ruled for the first time that saving a life cannot be justified at any cost, in a review of its ethical guidelines.It'd be nice if they then at least paid back into your estate all the NI and tax you'd paid in your lifetime, wouldn't it?
The ruling - made by the board of the controversial organisation - contradicts advice it received from its own 'Citizens Council' which offers advice from a representative sample of the general public.
If I have any American readers, be warned: this is what you will get with socialised medicine...
To be fair to NICE (and, believe me it's an effort) there must be some limit to the expense of saving (or extending) a life. For instance, is it worth £50,000 per week to extend the life of a 95 year old for 6 months compared with a one-off £250,000 to extend the life of a 10 year old for 70 years? I don't know - and I would not wish to make the decision - but someone must. However, if you're recommending an unlimited guarantee from the taxpayer that everything MUST be done and no expense spared to extend the life of EVERYONE then the NHS budget - bloated though it is now - will become literally uncontrollable.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice to think a person who had paid into a system for 50 years and claimed....very little...could access such services. People who have not paid into such a system for such a time could not expect to receive such benefits.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately. Politics of the left have rendered the system unworkable and politics of the right have always sought to fill the pockets of rich men.
Did i hear "third way" ?
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Your contribution, or your cost, to society should be a deciding factor in big money treatment. An unemployable junkie who has not paid any tax gets the very basic care, someone who has worked all his/her days and paid full NI and tax should get the best care. Simple and brutal, yes but its the way forward.
ReplyDelete"I don't know - and I would not wish to make the decision - but someone must."
ReplyDeleteOnly if we continue down the line of NHS 'from cradle to grave'. That was always destined to be a non-starter.
Allow people to opt out and take up private health insurance, leaving the NHS to cover basic accident and emergency, and some 'social' areas, and people could at last choose whether to pay for a Rolls Royce (and die poor) or a basic Ford Escort (and enjoy the money while they are young).
What we have now, is Rolls Royce prices regardless of whether you intend to drive, and a Ford Escort service if you happen to be in an area where the money's running out...
"Your contribution, or your cost, to society should be a deciding factor in big money treatment. "
That should certainly factor into NICE decisions. But it doesn't...