An ailing system

The British National Health Service is looking at the management of Majorcan hospitals as a possible blue-print for the NHS in Britain. Hundreds of Spanish nurses, including some from Majorca, have headed to Britain to help staff British hospitals. Infact, I think it would be a better idea for Spanish managers to take over British hospitals because the NHS seems incapable of doing anything themselves without outside help. What can Britain learn from the health system in Spain? A lot it appears. Majorca now has three NHS hospitals supported by a bouyant private sector. The reports I have heard about the health system in Majorca have been good. I think an important point which Britain could learn is that the private and state health systems work well together and infact complement each other. There is none of the “them and us” philosophy which you appear to get in Britain. A growing number of Majorcans, in a certain income bracket, have private medical insurance. Not because state hospitals are poor but because they feel they can afford an added luxury. This naturally helps to ease the burden on the NHS hospitals. Is the Spanish system perfect? No, by no means but it is probably more advanced than the British National Health Service. Investment has been forthcoming along with the necessary spending on staff. It is an unfortunate state of affairs when the mother of National Health Services has to copy another country's health systems which were probably set-up, initially, following the British model. What next. British NHS patients being cared for in Spanish hospitals? Watch this space.