Quote Originally Posted by rory_20_uk View Post
Health services need to be honest: certain things are too expensive to do and keeping the elderly alive costs more than we have since when they are better they continue to cost a fortune.

But no one wants that conversation - to cut beds for no-hope premature babies since the papers cite the one who bucks the odds, free drugs for "at risk" gay men (as having to use free condoms is so last millennium) and on course oncology and rare diseases - a bottomless pit where nigh on infinite money can be spent.

Private companies would have to rationalise as we all know has to happen.

The conversations are had a lot in health circles, or the ones I am in, but the consensus is pretty clear, we as a society are not going to abandon people to suffer and die, and I am glad we are not. You mention about older people and you are correct, they are the biggest users of the health service by a long mile, and they are also the ones who contributed to it the most. What solutions are you actually proposing? The implication of your statement is abandoning them, is that a position you are considering advocating, or the play of the devil?

Being honest, I am happy for us to 'waste' money to give people a fighting chance, I believe in a moral society and we shouldn't just let people die due to a low chance, then grumbling over a collectively insignificant amount. However, I do agree that some choices such be privately funded as they are purely optional, and some lifestyle drugs do receive heavy debate, but these are usually not sanctioned as CCGs are too underfunded to make provision for them.