Have all the extra NHS billions been wasted??
962108
The reason that billions are being wasted in the NHS is due to the Private Finance Initiative.  A private company foots the bill for building a new hospital, and the NHS leases the hospital at a price for a certain number of years.  So, instead of say, an old hospital being modernised at a one off cost of £35 million, its demolished, the land sold off to build luxury flats that no one can afford, and a new hospital built on the outskirts of town.  Great, weve got a brand new hospital, and the NHS has made a nice profit on the land that the old hospital was on.  In reality, the NHS then lease back the new hospital for say £25 million a year for the next 25 years.  Thats £625 million going to a group of faceless fat cats instead of into the healthcare of the public.  And of course, they demand their money before all others, so the NHS has to sack staff, cut down on its cleaning bills, close wards etc, while people who have paid their tax and NI into the system, in the vain hope that theyll get a decent level of care when they need it  can go to hell.   This happens with schools as well.  Its a disgrace.
805079
Yep, waste of time.\nDangerous, possibly, too (toxins).
840187
You really should check just how much money is spent on entitlement programs in this country... it could open your eyes.\n\nReading the responses, I see that you aren't the only one that doesn't have a clue to how this government spends money.
120366
no it doesnt prove it\n\nbut the reality is with spending of 2.7 trillion and tax revenue of 2.whatever trillion thats not 2.7 trillion, we need less spending\n\ni find it insulting that they cut medicare 14 billion and then beam on how they are saving us money,\nbut the department of defense says we dont need 12 air craft carrier groups we just need 11, and congress makes them have 12, when if you got rid of that one air craft carrier group you could probably properly fund medicare and education and a bunch of other stuff
796894
what I don't understand is your failure to recognise that Blair never answers the questions put to him, he will answer e.g. Mr. Prime Minister what do you intend to do about the appalling situation regarding funding for NHS? \n..Answer I do know that when the opposition were in power they never spent as much as we do now  on helping the poor.. or something equally irrelevant!
343768
I trusted them but now? No! these are such a bad things that shouldn't NHS do!
440924
The government of the UK spent £4823 on international aid in the year 2004/2005\n\nIt comes 11th in a league of aid donors when the money donated is presented as a percentage of GNP  (I believe Norway is first) \n\n\nBy 2007/2008 The UK Government aims this ammount to be meeting the UN target of spending 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) on official development assistance (ODA). \n\nTotal UK official development assistance will rise to almost £6.5 billion by 2007/08. These additional resources will be used to increase UK bilateral aid to Africa to at least £1.25 billion a year by 2008, spend at least £1.5 billion on HIV/AIDS related work over the next three years, and ensure that more children in the world’s poorest countries are able to go to primary school.\n\nAround the would these are the main countries the UK donates to                                \n            £millions  per year.\n India      259\n \n Bangladesh   128\n\n Tanzania   97\n \n Sudan   84\n \n Afghanistan   80\n \n Ghana   72\n \n Ethiopia  62\n \n Uganda   61\n \n Malawi  56\n \n Iraq    49\n \n Mozambique  48\n \n Nigeria  47\n \n Rwanda   42\n \n Vietnam   40\n \n China  36\n \n Kenya  35\n \n Nepal   35\n \n Pakistan  31\n \n Republic of South Africa   31\n \n Zambia  31\n \n\nHere are some current examples of aid projects\n\nBRAC Afghanistan was registered as an international NGO in Afghanistan in May 2002 and opened its office in Kabul in the same year. With support from the Afghan government and donors like DFID and USAID, BRAC Afghanistan has been working in 19 provinces to work towards "alleviation of poverty and empowerment of the poor".\n\nMicrofinance is considered worldwide as an effective tool for enabling the poor to develop their own sources of income and to improve their ability to provide for their families. But the lack of banking services and infrastructure is a big part of why many Afghanis struggle to get out of poverty. \n\nWithout access to financial services, poor Afghanis can't borrow, save or invest. To change this, DFID provides £20 million over three years  (2004-2008) to the Microfinance Investment and Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA), which provides essential credit and other financial services to help Afghans set up small businesses\n\n\n\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n£70 million for post-earthquake reconstruction in Pakistan is to be pledged by the UK at a high-level aid conference in Islamabad this weekend, the Secretary of State for International Development Hilary Benn announced today.\n\nThe pledge, to be made by International Development Minister Gareth Thomas who will attend the conference for the UK, will be paid out over 3 years to help fund rebuilding in quake-affected areas.\n\nThe new pledge brings the UK’s total support to Pakistan, for both relief and reconstruction, to over £100 million, to date. \n\nEncouraging other countries to follow suit with substantial reconstruction pledges of their own Gareth Thomas said: \n\n“Round-the-clock relief work continues as winter sets in and we try to prevent further suffering and loss of life. But we must also help Pakistan begin to rebuild the schools, hospitals and homes which were destroyed by the quake. The UK is giving generously – it urges others to do so too.\n\n“We will continue to monitor needs as they arise and respond as part of the international community.”\n\nDiscussions at this weekend’s conference in Islamabad will centre on an assessment of reconstruction priorities made for the government of Pakistan by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. \n\nThe UK is to date the second largest bilateral donor of post-earthquake relief funds (after the US). \n\n\n\nAn innovative television drama series, produced with DFID funding, is educating rural people in East Africa about issues that matter to them. \n\nCalled Makutano Junction, it aims to entertain and e
873814
I worked around that mess for many years.. Justification for bureaucracy? There is absolutely NO justification for it.... It is a horrible waste of money and the stupid taxpayers have no knowledge of the waste that is going on
154884
Now I've heard about money being given for what's in the testicles, but not the testes themselves.\n\nHope you weren't thinking to make a quick buck.... But maybe if you have a spare or something there might be a way you could donate the extra. ; )
958978
No,\nThere is no other way to provide the necessary level of care than by a medical system paid for by national insurance.\n\nIf you look at the USA - it is far more expensive and inefficient than the UK without having a demonstrable increase in standards of health.\n\nIt is inefficient because its bureacracy is immense you have\nThe admin of loads of different health care providers -hospitals doctors etc.\nYou have the admin of the HMOs\nYou have the admin of the insurance companies\n\nThat costs more money than having just the admin of the health care system\n\nSecondly the private care system leads to all sorts of short termist economics that are bad for long term health and long term expenditure on health care.\n\nMore money gets spent on drugs than on preventative medicine and primary care to keep people healthy.\nAll sorts of expensive tests are done which are not strictly medically necessary.\n\nMany people are not covered by health insurance which has a knock on effect in several areas -\n1) the problem of poverty illnesses such as TB - prevalent among the homeless and STDs from people who have no access to health care.\n\n2)If you can't get proper quality health care you may take more days off work  -this has a knock on effect on the economy and therefore tax levels.\n\nI am not saying the NHS works perfectly but it is improving in many aspects - \neven the private health care companies are noticing a down turn in demand for things like knee and hip replacements to be done privately.\n\nOne issue though is that some consultants like to push people into their private clinics where they get paid twice as much and so keep waiting lists longer without good reasons.
398258
Yes but it is a waste of money..
593605
more people, more waste!
662616
I have to agree that the investment is poor.  As an ex-pat Aussie living in the UK it is clear that the English don't show the same level of government support as we do.  I guess maybe it's because there is only so much money to go around, and the populace insist on maintaining an expensive health service, NHS dentists, and other traditional tax absorbers; and that in light of this someone running for office won't win votes by saying "I'm going to eliminate non-private dentistry and build a National Institute of Sport"
344594
trillions and billions...!\n\nwhat? there are homeless people out there? there's people on minimal wage? what do you mean no hospital cover, no go?
864076
Its another way to spend the money the Government say they have not got!! Put the money into schooling and hospitals were its needed.  The kids nowadays will not listen to some super nanny!!  What will they do take the naughty children to the seaside for the day, give them a holiday, buy a new computer or game on taxpayers money!!!  I think our Goverment has gone bananas!!!
933189
Tobacco taxation raises revenue of £9.5bn compared with the £1.7bn needed to treat smoking-related illness. There you go, so next time an anti smoker needs hospital treatment you may find that it is that smoker you so dislike that is actually paying for that life saving operation you need! (When you are hit by a car for example!!)\nHere's an interesting read for you!!!! Evidence???\nhttp://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/road_air_pollution_health.pdf#search='evidence%20of%20car%20pollution%20causing%20illness'
969822
No it is not true.\nMost of the population of England is not on benefits.