A picture of health? (British medical personnel react to "Sicko")

[Lydia Leftcoast]

Michael Moore's new film, Sicko, which is out next month, contrasts the US's privatised healthcare system with Britain's free NHS. It shows Americans without insurance dumped in the street; children refused life-saving treatment because their parents can't pay; hospitals run for profit, not for patients. The UK, meanwhile, is a glorious place where everyone receives the treatment they need, whatever their income; where doctors earn high salaries and are paid extra for preventative care; where the public ethos is as strong as ever after almost 60 years. For this special G2 report we took 16 NHS workers to an advance screening of Sicko and asked them: is the British way of medicine really that good?

To see what they said, go to

http://society.guardian.co.uk/health/comment/0,,2175763,00.html

[fenriswolf]

1. dennis kucinich for the win

[PM Martin]

2. kick

[redqueen]

3. Hah... love those responses.

:)

[Prophet 451]

4. The concept is good; the practice...

I'm a Brit. Not too long ago, Blair was talking about a "public-private partnership" in the NHS (which was his code for privatising big chunks of it).

The NHS is a long way from perfect. There are some very big problems with it such as underfunding for decades (under both Labour and Tory governments), a tendancy toward pack mentality and the near-total collapse of NHS dental care (ever wonder why so many Brits have bad teeth? That's why) but, for all it's faults, it's still a billion miles better than the American system.