NOT THE TIMES NEWSPAPER

THE NHS - INFINITE DEMAND,

FINITE RESOURCES

 

When the National Health Service came into
existence in 1948, Lord Beveridge could not
have envisaged how in the world in which
we now live, the NHS's culture of healthcare
for all would attract such global interest.

Communicating the NHS's world-class

expertise and humanitarian ethos to the

billions watching the Olympics' opening

ceremony last summer, director Danny

Boyle, brilliantly articulated the third most

important concern of everyone on the

planet - healthcare.

Boyle's stunning visual representation of the

ideals of the NHS has brought a flood of

inquiries from around the world. Possible

partners are asking if the UK would be 

interested in the commercial possibilities

of capitalising on the brand through joint-

ventures.

The use of such marketing terminology tells
us something of the link between state and
private provision. Potential purchasers of
the NHS's global expertise are mindful of
the reality that funding infinite demand for
healthcare from finite resources is an
impossibility. They know that a
combination of public and insurance-funded

private provision has to be the answer.

Without universal health insurance, delivering

high-quality healthcare to ageing populations

is unworkable. Beveridge's prediction that

healthcare expenditure would reduce as the

population became more heathly with
improved medical care, has always been a
false premise, given scientific advances and
increasing longevity.

If, through a similarly realistic and open

approach to how healthcare is delivered in  

other countries, the finances and standards of

provision within the NHS would be
transformed - helped by the inflow of billions

from marketing this priceless expertise