Look to the future?

The NHS is in the spotlight again - not necessarily because of anything happening here, but rather as a result of discussions (heated arguments?) which are going on in the US about the direction their health care provision should take. As a result of criticism coming from over the pond, everybody seems to be falling over themselves to defend the NHS and in particular its core value of being "free at the point of delivery". I'm not sure that we aren't missing the chance here to re-examine the NHS in the light of all the changes which have taken place since the 1940s, and to ask ourselves if that model is still viable in the 21st century. I have said before that I think it is only a matter of time before the NHS is reduced to a GP and A & E facility, and that as regards anything which cannot be dealt with by prescribing a pill, setting a broken bone, releasing the saucepan jammed on little Jimmy's head or is not immediately life-threatening, it will be up to us to cover those eventualities by private insurance - and if indeed that is what is going to happen, then the sooner we start talking about it, and how we are going to deal with it, the better.