[deergomoo]

The NHS is about the only thing this country has that I am even remotely proud of. It is far from perfect—made substantially worse by the last decade of Conservative austerity and piecemeal attempts at privatisation—but the idea that you’d be so disparaging is crazy to me.

I had cancer five years ago, spending the better part of six months receiving inpatient treatment, during which I couldn’t work. I had recently moved jobs beforehand too—I have literally no idea what I would have done under an American-style system.

It’s bursting at the seams (through no fault of its own), and yet still we never bankrupt people with life threatening illnesses, we don’t bill people for ambulances, we don’t force seriously ill people and their families to do battle with blood-sucking insurance companies over byzantine coverage terms.

It’s the last damned thing this nation has actually feels like it exists for the common good of the people. I would recommend it to other countries—wholeheartedly.