Ms GrantYour GP is obviously a fine ironist.From Wikipedia -'GPs are officially classed as independent contractors, although most think of themselves as being part of the NHS. This status dates back to the beginning of the NHS and was intended to keep costs down while allowing GPs to maintain their independence from NHS management. While GP practices are private businesses, this does not necessarily mean that they are in favor of further commercialization of General Practice by large companies'.Of course they are not in favour.They do very nicely thank you as things are.Again Wikipedia -'The average salary for a GP is currently £98,000 a year according to the latest research. However, this figure is merely a guide, as GP salaries can vary enormously. Many less experienced GPs earn just over £60,000 a year, while a handful of the most experienced can earn more than £200,000 by managing several practices and thousands of patients'.You should ask what your GP means by 'privatising the NHS'.Many services are delivered by private companies under contract to the NHS.Dentistry is one in particular and 526,000 elective operations were performed by private medical companies on behalf of the NHS.The whole situation is summed up nicely below -'The issue of privatisation of health services was a topic of debate during the 2015 United Kingdom general election. The government's main stance is summed up in this quote: "(the) use of the private sector in the NHS represents only 6% of the total NHS budget - an increase of just 1% since May 2010".[23] It is unclear what this statement meant. Some NHS services, such as dentistry, optical care and pharmacy, have always been provided by the private sector and, technically, most GP practices are private partnerships. All the drugs, supplies and equipment used by the NHS are privately provided. Taken together this amounts to around 40% of the NHS budget. In addition some NHS organisations subcontract work to private providers. The NHS accounts for 2013/4 show that £10 billion of the total NHS budget of £113 billion was spent on care from non-NHS providers. The main growth in private provision has been in mental health and community health services'. (Wiki again !)As far as I am concerned I have paid high taxes for about 50 years which have helped provide excellent medical services and treatment 'free at the point of delivery'For that I am content and gratified.I am sure that I have put more into funding the health service than many with whom I shared a waiting room at George's yesterday - particularly those who were not English speaking !
John Hawkes ● 531d