Shropshire Star

LETTER: There is no magic formula for NHS

A reader discusses the NHS.

Published
Last updated
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in Shrewsbury.

For those in a second UK lock down the cure for Corona virus is now worse than the disease.

We need the lock downs because the NHS would be overwhelmed, but why is that? Lack of funds to have an appropriate number of hospitals to serve a population of 67 million. There are around 1300 hospitals in the UK, which means there are roughly 53,000 people for every hospital. Some 2017 figures are revealing, Germany has eight hospital beds for every 1,000 people, the UK has only 2.54 beds for every 1,000 people. Add on the UK grows by 1/3 of million each year, has lost many valuable local cottage hospitals and still spends 17 billion, yes 17 billion, each year on overseas aid, ensuring the leaders of the recipient countries always have a new Mercedes.

If the NHS was properly funded then the four basics would have seen us through this pandemic, isolating for the vulnerable, masks, social distancing when possible and hand washing.

So who should pay? Everyone will need to pay, from the oldest to the youngest, there is no magic "let the rich pay" formula. The Government have been dishing out money to such an extent that it will be hard to get people to focus on the fact that they will have to pay for it if they truly want a NHS that works for all.

Peter Steggles, Rushbury

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