http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2012/01/04/richard-smith-does-it-still-make-sense-for-healthcare-to-be-%e2%80%9cfree%e2%80%9d-and-social-care-means-tested/ Just another blogs.bmj.com weblog Sun, 10 Feb 2013 15:13:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2012/01/04/richard-smith-does-it-still-make-sense-for-healthcare-to-be-%e2%80%9cfree%e2%80%9d-and-social-care-means-tested/#comment-15821 Sérgio Falcão Thu, 24 May 2012 01:05:00 +0000 http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/?p=13788#comment-15821 Excellent Reflection!
       Sérgio Falcão (Plastic Surgeon, UFPB, UEPB), João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brasil.

]]> http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2012/01/04/richard-smith-does-it-still-make-sense-for-healthcare-to-be-%e2%80%9cfree%e2%80%9d-and-social-care-means-tested/#comment-14721 Anon Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:36:12 +0000 http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/?p=13788#comment-14721 So, basically you're saying that if someone was born with a life long condition that they should not be entitled to free healthcare because NICE, commissioning groups, and local authorities to decide on relative state expenditure on social care and extra healthcare would say it is too expensive. Therefore, I would not be alive now because my parents would not have been able to afford to pay for treatment!!!  Do you want it to go the way it is in America, where families go bankrupt to pay the fees, where families ask via, for example, a justgiving page to get help paying household bills, paying for food.  If it was not for free healthcare I would not be the miracle that I am today…..  Yes, I agree that the elderly need more help… There needs to be a balance, not strip one for the other.

]]> http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2012/01/04/richard-smith-does-it-still-make-sense-for-healthcare-to-be-%e2%80%9cfree%e2%80%9d-and-social-care-means-tested/#comment-14720 Jean Robinson Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:53:05 +0000 http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/?p=13788#comment-14720 Makes complete sense, although futile treatments should not be funded whether they are expensive or not! The whole quality of life / end of life debate is well overdue

]]> http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2012/01/04/richard-smith-does-it-still-make-sense-for-healthcare-to-be-%e2%80%9cfree%e2%80%9d-and-social-care-means-tested/#comment-14713 Timothy Rittman Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:49:05 +0000 http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/?p=13788#comment-14713 I completely agree. I routinely ask questions in my dementia clinic about benefits, social care, pensions and finances. Getting a chronic condition late in life is a financial burden and fixing these things could improve quality of life more than any currently available pills.

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