The NHS should level up, not top up

October 6th, 2008

I am a big supporter of the idea that healthcare should be about need rather than ability to pay.

While its not without its problems, the NHS is still about good people delivering a good service to those who need it.

So I was glad to be involved in a parliament debate that challenged some of these ideals.

The issue surrounded cancer patients who wished to prolong their lives using expensive treatment drugs which the NHS won’t prescribe.

And to compound their problems, the NHS withdraws its treatment if people opt to pay for these cancer drugs privately.

One of the arguments against NHS ‘topping up’ is the unacceptable idea of a two-tier health system because others can’t afford these drugs.

But unfortunately the NHS already has inequities that count against people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

In Inverclyde, a person in Kilmalcolm can live 11 years longer than someone who stays in the east end of Greenock.

While on one hand we have people caught in a poverty health trap, there are a growing number able to take more responsibility for their health.

With over-the-counter medicines, NHS 24 and Google, people are empowered by a greater understanding of their health issues.

We can’t blame people for taking these opportunities but what are we doing for those left behind?

But now that we have lifted people’s expectations, we can’t suddenly put a cap on their involvement and influence on their treatment when it gets serious.

The dilemma is summed up by the terminally ill woman who described top-up treatments as morally wrong – yet admitted she would remortgage her home to buy that extra time.

Whatever comes out of this, people need to be levelled up rather than levelled down.