Editing 78-12-A2 (section)

= British Health Care =

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=== Transcript ===
Back in 1948 when Britain's Prime Minister Clement Atlee saw his
dream of socialized medicine come true, he believed it heralded the
beginning of an England so healthy, doctors would go out of style.
Maybe that is extreme, but he was sure that the new system would
bring such improvements in the health of the people that medical
costs would become less and less.

In its first year, however, the costs were double what had
been anticipated and now, after 30 years, the program is the target
of bitter criticism by doctors, patients and politicians. For a
year now a royal commission has been studying the system to find
a way out of what is openly called a health care crisis.

With compulsory national health insurance being pushed by some
of our own politicians we'd better learn what that Royal commission
has learned. First, they concluded that hospitals are worn out and
antiquated, lacking modern equipment. Half were built in the last
century.

Next, there is an enormous waiting list for what are called nonurgent 
operations such as hernia, arthritic joints or varicose
veins. They may be called non-urgent, but more than 600,000 people
are waiting and will wait for years for operations to correct
such painful and disabling problems.

A top-heavy bureaucracy has created an unworkable mass of
red tape. There is anger and frustration among doctors and
patients over the elaborate decision-making machinery which does
everything, it seems, but make decisions.

Top quality doctors are leaving England, or at least the
National Health plan, out of sheer frustration. Their places
are taken by foreign doctors and nurses, many of whom are not up
to the level of training of the personnel they replace.

Morale is so low among hospital personnel that strikes,
slowdowns and outright rebellion are becoming commonplace among
professionals once hailed for their dedication.

Any figures the British system can point to as evidence of
success (such as reducing infant mortality) are either matched or
topped by other countries, including our own.

One orthopedic surgeon called the 127 patients he has on a
waiting list to tell some of them they may have to wait more than
30 years for their operations at the present rate of scheduling.
This doesn't mean he's that busy -- it's the unavailability of
operating room time and recovery beds in the ancient hospitals.

Some of the patients he called were elderly people in wheel
chairs waiting for replacement of arthritic hip joints so they
can walk again. The surgeon was only able to do two such operations
in all of 1977 because so little operating room time was available
to him.

The Royal commission is supposed to come up with some answers in
1977. Meanwhile I would think we have all the answers we need for
Washington.

This is Ronald Reagan.

Thanks for listening.
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=== Details ===
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<TR><TD WIDTH="150">Batch Number</TD><TD WIDTH="150">{{PAGENAME}}</TD></TR>
<TD>Production Date</TD><TD>08/07/[[Radio1978|1978]]</TD></TR>
<TD>Book/Page</TD><TD>[[Radio_Commentary_Books#Reagan.27s_Path_to_Victory|RPtV-349]]</TD></TR>
<TD>Audio</TD><TD></TD></TR>
<TD>Youtube?</TD><TD>No</TD></TR>
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===Added Notes===

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