National Health Service

Authored by George Pickering via The Mises Institute,

“The National Health Service is the closest thing the English have to a religion,” Margaret Thatcher’s Chancellor Nigel Lawson famously once observed. However, given the swivel-eyed fanaticism with which its supporters will defend it, even from the overwhelming evidence of its shortcomings, at this point it might be more accurate to describe the NHS as Britain’s national cult.

As the National Health Service crisis deepens, over 20 hospitals in England have been forced to declare a ‘black alert’. NHS England classifies a black alert as a “serious incident” meaning the system is such under severe pressure that it is unable to deliver certain actions and comprehensive emergency care. At least 23 hospitals have been forced to issue the warning declaring that they cannot cope with increasingly overwhelming patient numbers, meaning that patient safety can no longer be guaranteed.

The National Health Service (NHS) is about to direct emergency and advice calls to robot operators in order to ease pressure on overburdened accident and emergency (A&E) services. An “artificially intelligent” chat service is set to to be trialled on 111 calls throughout the UK. The controversial new measure is part of a drive by health officials to “digitise” the health service, while speeding up help for minor complaints to reduce strain on services.

According to legal experts, the controversial transatlantic trade deal between the US and Europe could make it impossible for future governments to reverse the privatisation of parts of Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) New Legal advice prepared by one of the UK’s leading QCs on European law for the Unite trade union, will reveal on Monday that it has been holding talks with the government about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal between Europe and the US.

New concerns have emerged over Zika as it’s feared the virus can be sexually transmitted and could impact blood donations. The National Health Service (NHS) has banned travelers from donating blood for 28 days after returning from countries that are currently hit by Zika in order to prevent the virus from spreading. Doctors have also blocked organ donations from those who have recently traveled to countries with a high incidence of Zika.