UK health strikes and universal health coverage

21 December, 2022

In our high income country, the UK, at present, nurses, junior doctors, ambulance drivers, train drivers, teachers, post office workers and others that I may not have noticed are talking about or implementing strikes.

It is difficult to make an appointment to to see a family doctor, and Accident and Emergency departments can no longer see patients within 4 hours and the elective waiting list for medical interventions is longer than it ever has been.

It seems that non life saving interventions such as joint replacements, cosmetic surgery, expensive invasive procedures will become available to only a fee- and maybe that has always been the reality in a old that has limited human and planetary resources.

A recent report from Brazil, as part of a webinar from tbe IAPO patient organization, showed that simple grass roots primary care wad the best route to universal health coversge rather than high expense therapeutic and surgical "medicine".

I will send a summary of the webinar.

R

HIFA profile: Richard Fitton is a retired family doctor - GP. Professional interests: Health literacy, patient partnership of trust and implementation of healthcare with professionals, family and public involvement in the prevention of modern lifestyle diseases, patients using access to professional records to overcome confidentiality barriers to care, patients as part of the policing of the use of their patient data. Email address: richardpeterfitton7 AT gmail.com