let the rant continue?

"Since its launch in 1948, the NHS has grown to become the world’s largest publicly funded health service."
Okay I know the NHS was taken for granted and we were apparently 'envied' for having access to medical services 'free at the point of use' (with some exceptions).

Prescription charges are:

prescription - £7.20 per item
12 months prepayment certificate (PPC) - £104.00
3 months PPC - £28.25

But, today's incarnation is far different from that envisaged by its founders and those who remember how it used to be.
Receptionists stand guard over GP surgeries making access to GPs difficult. They are the first barrier between GP and patient. GPs chase 'targets' set by the government of the day as do all areas of the NHS. They hunt money because of monetary incentives given for seeing patients, offering 'services'...
"The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing" aka "There is no joined-up thinking"
Money is wasted because people are incompetent...and it's the way the NHS is set up that makes it so.

Too many Generals and not enough Squaddies.

The only good news is that at long last Pharmacists are allowed to do more for patients (taking some of the workload off GPs???)

Our NHS has a scale of charges and because of a money grabbing ethos expect funds to be raised for them in addition to Government funding. It seems we are now paying over and over and over again for our 'free' NHS.

Obviously the NHS is a 'work in progress' and today's announcement of more reforms beggars belief.
This quote from a satyrical web page puts it into perspective...
From the 'Daily Mash'
Mr Lansley said:
"The key problem is the primary care trust system which has reduced hospitals to being nothing more than a lot of doctors and nurses in a big building treating people who aren't well.

Pardon me whilst I...