NHS at 70: Take the Express & Star survey on future of our health service
It is a fundamental part of being British, an institution relied on by a population and a source of pride and patriotism.
The NHS will be 70 next week – and today the Express & Star launches an online survey to find out how you feel it is run, how its future will shape up and whether you are willing to pay for the burden of a population that is getting older.
THE SURVEY IS NOW CLOSED - STAY POSTED FOR THE FULL RESULTS
It is a time of huge advances in medicine, but also an escalation of costs.
Theresa May revealed this week that the NHS in England is to get an extra £20bn a year by 2023 as a 70th ‘birthday present’.
It means the £114bn budget will rise by an average of 3.4 per cent annually – but that is still less than the 3.7 per cent average rise the NHS has had since 1948.
The issue of funding has opened up a philosophical debate about the future of the NHS.
Formed in post-war Britain, society was very different than it is now.
Many argue that a insurance-based system would better suited to the needs of a country where choice and competition dominates every other strand of society.
The NHS also faces challenges like never before.
With people being kept alive longer, there is more demand for beds.
A&E is seeing record numbers year-on-year and the ambulance service is often fully stretched.
One expert, Steve Turner, a professor of child health, this week warned “we will never have enough beds, we will never have enough doctors and we will never have enough nurses.”
Today expressandstar.com gives you the chance to have your say.
