Australia proves we don't have to suffer under the NHS
Read through the documents the NHS provides, and you will find the usual bland statements about 'avoidable errors' and 'devastating consequences' for mothers, children, families and 'the NHS staff involved'. Actual meaningful improvements are thin on the ground, with the Care Quality Commission rating two thirds of maternity units inspected as 'requires improvement' or 'inadequate' for safety.
Perhaps more in line with health service thinking is a 2018 appeal from the chief executive of the NHS confederation to cut compensation for clinical negligence.
It is an unfortunate observation that the scandal-ridden state of NHS maternity services isn't particularly unusual: in every field of care, the incompetence of the health service is killing people who would otherwise have had a chance at living.
Over on social media, an appeal for Britons to share stories 'about the time the NHS tried to kill you' has now been viewed 3.7 million times in around 36 hours. Heartbreaking lists of dead siblings, dead children, lost limbs and botched surgeries have come rolling in.
That almost everyone in Britain seems to have a story where the NHS has catastrophically screwed up their care, or the care of someone close to them, isn't a strange coincidence. Hard numbers show that the NHS, to put it bluntly, is awful.
Infant mortality rates are 16pc higher in Britain than in peer countries. Breast cancer survival rates are well behind average. Fatality rates for heart attacks and strokes are higher. The UK's treatable mortality rate – the rate of deaths which could have been averted with better healthcare – is 69 per 100,000 people, adjusted for age. The equivalent rate in Australia, to pick an example not entirely at random, is 46 per 100,000.
It would be tempting to say that this is a matter of NHS resources. The UK has fewer doctors for every 1,000 inhabitants (3.2) than the United States (3.6), Ireland (4.1) or Australia (4). We also lag behind Bulgaria (4.9), Russia (3.8), and Kazakhstan (4) among many others. We also have fewer CT and MRI scanners – roughly one fifth the level of Australia – and fewer hospital beds.
But in financial terms, this wouldn't quite be right. Adjusted for price levels, we spend considerably more per person than countries like Japan, Italy and New Zealand, while performing far worse in terms of treatable deaths. And when the NHS does get resources, it wastes them.
Productivity in the health service has slumped back to its level in 2012, with all the technological gains since then swallowed by the sheer inability of the organisation to change and adapt.
The core problem is one the health service has been grappling with since its foundation. There are no real price signals – the GP contract is still largely based on the characteristics and number of patients on a practice's books, rather than on actual work done – and there is no market where patients choose between providers based on their successes and failures.
It's certainly true that the resulting system is fair, in that it fails to treat rich and poor alike. But it's untrue to claim that it somehow avoids trade-offs between people when deciding who gets care.
A fully private healthcare system allocates treatment based on your ability to pay. The British system, meanwhile, allocates it based on your ability to wait. The result is spiralling waiting lists, without the additional resources brought into the system that a monetary system provides.
Moreover, a fully private system isn't the only alternative on offer. The US healthcare model has been used to scare the public for decades, trotted out every time NHS reform has been suggested. I've never seen the Australian system used as a scare tactic, and that's probably because British people know it works.
The Australian model is a hybrid. There is universal insurance in the form of Medicare, and there is private insurance purchased from the market. Healthcare providers are a mix of public and private.
High earners who don't choose to buy an 'appropriate level of private patient hospital cover' pay a tax surcharge of between 1pc and 1.5pc of their taxable income to encourage self-reliance. Far from following Lord Kinnock's call for tax raids on private healthcare, there's a system of tax rebates for those who take out policies.
The result is a system that provides excellent, convenient healthcare. Patients on the 7.4 million NHS waiting list have been on it for an average of 95 days. The average patient in Australia goes from diagnosis to surgery within 46 days. It works for patients, who get better outcomes. It works for doctors, who are voting with their feet.
Junior doctors, in particular, who face random allocation to training places and competition from overseas graduates, must be sorely tempted. And it certainly works for the taxpayer.
Add up spending across the public and private sectors, and Australia spends a little under 10pc of its GDP on healthcare. Britain spends 11pc. One per cent of GDP might not sound like a huge amount, but it is.
In a UK context, it's about £26bn a year: enough to cut roughly 4p off the basic rate of income tax, or cut your council tax bill by two thirds. Or, of course, it could close half of the £50bn black hole in the public finances that Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves may need to backfill by the autumn.
Healthcare is far from the only area where Britain has something to learn from its offspring. Australia has us whipped in living standards, government efficiency, taxation from income and fuel, pensions, and the rest.
Once we've dealt with health, we could do a lot worse than sending our own Iwakura Mission down under to learn from our cousins. But first things first: let's kill the NHS before it kills us.
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The Sun
11 minutes ago
- The Sun
Inside deadly ‘Whippets' epidemic which leaves victims brain damaged and incontinent… as dangerous craze spreads to UK
LURED in with child-like fruity flavours, a dangerous party drug has left a trail of destruction in the US - with fears it could spread to the UK. Known as whippets, canisters of nitrous oxide can legally be bought in shops - and in many states, children are able to buy the poisonous gas. 17 17 17 17 Nitrous oxide - also known as NOS - is most commonly inhaled via a balloon, but youngsters are now buying flavoured whipped cream canisters and inhaling them directly from the nozzle. Rather than 8g metal canisters littering the streets, whopping cans contain as much of 2kg of gas - meaning users can inhale massive quantities. The most notorious brand in the US is Galaxy Gas - which comes in child-friendly flavours such as mango smoothie, blueberry, strawberry cream and vanilla cupcake - similar to the marketing of disposable vapes. It became wildly popular among American teens, peaking last year when it was widely glorified in rap videos and social media clips. Footage of a user inhaling Galaxy Gas racked up 40million views - and inspired countless copycats. A viral song titled "Whippets" is available to watch on YouTube - showing youngsters bragging about their use of Galaxy Gas and repeatedly inhaling from the huge canisters. Although the canisters are intended for food use, guests have also tried it on the Joe Rogan podcast and Kanye West has spoken about his addiction to the substance. After furious backlash, the brand has withdrawn its products from the market and is now only available from a very limited selection of stores - but others are replacing it. In 2023, the UK government made nitrous oxide a Class C drug - but it's mostly failed to rid the streets of discarded metallic canisters. Balloon-huffing revellers still openly inhale at festivals, parties and in the streets. Laughing gas 'epidemic' sweeping party island with tourists left foaming at mouth, having seizures & permanently scarred In serious cases, users have become heavily addicted to the high and left needing rehab or hospital treatment after racing through as many as 15 canisters per day. But in the US, possession of nitrous oxide is legal - and authorities are struggling to crack down on the deadly craze. Between 2023 and 2024, there was a 58 per cent surge in reports of exposure to nitrous oxide in America according to official data. The number of deaths from nitrous oxide also rose by a staggering 110 per cent from 2019 to 2023. Rachel Kelly, from Chicago, inhaled so much nitrous oxide straight out of the canister every day that parts of her brain died and she was left in a wheelchair. 17 17 17 17 She first tried the substance aged 21 and by 2023 the 29-year-old was paying $220 a day to inhale eight two-litre tanks. Rachel said "everyone" was using the drug and it was easy to buy at a local convenience store. But her habit left her in hospital unable to go to the toilet or walk on her own - forcing her to spend a month in a rehabilitation centre. Jordan Micu, 30, from North Carolina, was also left suffering seizures after getting hooked on the canisters as a 21-year-old college student. In the US, shops often offer deals and colourful canisters can easily be found in smoke shops - despite their intended use for food production. Imyouski, 22, told GQ: "It's like an epidemic, all the young folks are on them. "It's too obtainable, I could literally drive down the street right now and go grab me how many I want." And in the UK, canisters are also widely available to purchase online. A range of brands have emerged with similar whacky flavours and bright marketing available online in the UK. 17 "Baking Bad" and "Miami Magic", both cream charger brands available online in the UK, have recently released new flavoured ranges. Baking Bad offers candy, strawberry, blueberry mango and watermelon lemon flavoured gas. Miami Magic, meanwhile, boasts rainbow, watermelon, blue raspberry and strawberry guava editions. The fruit combo flavours in particular are similar to many vapes that have hit the market in recent years. Fiona Spargo-Mabbs OBE, founder and director of drugs education charity the DSM foundation, told The Sun: "I googled nitrous oxide in the UK and it came up with a whole load of places you can buy it. "These social media trends or videos that go viral and are seen by loads of people. "It's a concern, it's always a concern. They're being marketed with cartoon characters, GTA imaging on the outside of canisters. "They're obviously being marketed to appeal for young people and not for its intended use." I think young people just see it as a bit of fun at first but then use it for self-medication for depression and anxiety Dan Gibbons Fiona, a member of the government's advisory council on the misuse of drugs, added: "Things that come from the states and social media, there can be so many influences in terms of the decisions young people make. "The exposure that young people have to drugs on social media is something I am concerned about." Dan Gibbons, from UK-based solvent abuse charity Re-Solv, told The Sun: "Galaxy Gas has not come across our radar as much in the UK but you can get it here. "I think young people just see it as a bit of fun at first but then use it for self-medication for depression and anxiety." 17 17 17 17 He said he wouldn't be surprised if the huge canisters start to make an appearance at British festivals after being heavily promoted online in the US. Dan says Re-Solve has even seen an increase in referrals for laughing gas addiction since the government ban was imposed. Dr Gail Saltz told us: "There are teens who have suffered permanent neurological loss as a result of this behaviour. "And it certainly can kill you." The doctor explained that inhaling the gas can lead to a range of very serious medical problems - and even death in the most severe cases. She explained: "When you inhale high pressure nitrous oxide, you are not getting any oxygen to the brain - so that's oxygen depravation. "And that can cause a heart attack, a stroke, injury to the brain. "More persistent use can lead to other issues such as B12 deficiency, anaemia, and other neurological problems." Meg Caldwell, a horse rider from Florida, started using nitrous oxide recreationally while at university. But her usage got heavier to the point it "started ruining her life". After an overdose, Meg, 29, temporarily lost use of her legs and was left incontinent, but carried on spending hundreds of dollars a day on the gas. She died in November last year in a car park outside a vape shop. Her sister Leigh Caldwell told Boston 25: "She would spend $300, $400 at a smoke shop in a day. "Her whole life had become derailed due to her addiction to this drug." Another sister, Kathleen Dial, told the BBC: "She didn't think that it would hurt her because she was buying it in the smoke shop, so she thought she was using this substance legally." Meg's family has now filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers of nitrous oxide and seven Florida smoke shops to stop retail sales of the drug. Galaxy Gas is named in the lawsuit. Drug addiction counsellor Kim Castro said that she's had four clients who have died from nitrous oxide poisoning. She told Boston 25: "You really don't know when you'll stop breathing, when you'll lose consciousness, when your body will stop functioning. It's pretty scary." In March, the FDA released a warning advising consumers not to inhale nitrous oxide products, including Galaxy Gas and other brands. 17 17 17 Dr Saltz said that sucking laughing gas to get high is not a new phenomenon, but there's been a surge in the past three to five years thanks to a "new twist" in the market. She said: "The new addition in recent years is flavours, which has made it more appealing to younger and younger people. "It seems like it's being literally marketed to this group of people. It makes it seem not dangerous and more innocuous." The doc agrees that social media has supercharged the spread of the drug amongst youngsters - allowing it to be glorified, but also popularising "challenges" involving the gas. She also warned of the danger of "copycat companies" who have "caught onto the fact that young people will buy this and use it for abuse". The doctor insisted there are some obvious ways to fight back against the gas falling into teens' hands. She said: "Selling to underage individuals is something that is frequently abused - and that of course shouldn't be happening. "We should be putting more warnings on the packaging so that the adult who is buying it is warned - because they may not realise what their teen is actually asking for. "And I wish that the companies would not be able to market to young people. "Once you've identified something as used for abuse, governments should have the ability to say to a company: 'This is what you can do, this is what you can't do.' For the greater societal good." Dr Saltz also explained that laughing gas is "easier to hide than abuse of many other things". She said: "It has no smell, it seems innocuous because it can be used for food preparation. It's not expensive, and the high is short." Ibiza laughing gas 'epidemic' By Patrick Harrington, foreign news reporter BRIT tourists have been suffering seizures, foaming at the mouth and left permanently scarred after inhaling toxic drugs on the streets of Ibiza. Armed with industrial-sized canisters of nitrous oxide, determined dealers roam the infamous San Antonio party strip - targeting Brits as "easy prey". But the Class C drug can cause a range of health issues - and in some cases can even be fatal. In the UK, the gas is most commonly sold in small canisters which deliver a single dose - enough to fill one balloon. But dealers in San Antonio are armed with huge canisters that pump out up to 80 hits - and come in boxes of six. At the going rate of five euros a balloon, the street value of a six-pack of canisters is around £2,000 - and they're strewn across the town. When The Sun visited the notorious strip, our reporter was hounded and followed down the street by dealers. Katie Mae, a bartender at Irish pub Shenanigans on the town's main strip, said laughing gas is 'the worst of them all'. The 21-year-old told The Sun: "I'll lecture anyone I see taking it - I've seen the worst things from laughing gas. 'I've seen young lads having seizures on the street and foaming at the mouths, but their friends are high so do nothing to help." One British bar worker living in San Antonio told us she used to sell laughing gas here, but stopped after one of her customers 'nearly died'. The Brit said she got 'freaked out' when a young lad fell backwards and smashed his head on the road in the midst of a balloon high.
The Guardian
11 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Experts warn against DIY Botox-like injections available illegally online
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Daily Mail
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The ludicrous health claims celebrities WISH they could RETRACT
Calvin Harris this week shocked fans after sharing photos of his wife Vick Hope 's placenta, in a post announcing the birth of their first child. Instagram images appearing to show the organ being de-hydrated and turned into pills—which have since been hit with an age restriction by the social media site—sparked debate online. Some people claim that eating the placenta after a baby is born has a range of health benefits for new mothers—replenishing iron levels after giving birth and lessening symptoms of post-natal depression. But health bodies including the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) have long warned there is little evidence at all to support the claims and could even lead to dangerous infections. Since the Scottish DJ's post, several doctors have criticised the move, arguing 'no healthcare professional with any integrity would endorse these pills'. It has also sparked renewed debate around health information—or misinformation—shared online to millions of people. Experts have long warned that growing levels of celeb health endorsements can pose a risk to wellbeing—surveys also suggest that just two per cent of health advice published on social media aligns with public health guidelines. Here, the Daily Mail reflects on five celeb endorsed health claims that have since been debunked by medical professionals. Gwyneth Paltrow's 'garbage' Goop egg In 2017, Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle brand Goop infamously released $66 jade 'Yoni eggs.' Goop claimed its jade and rose quartz eggs, which are inserted into the vagina, could balance hormones, regulate menstrual cycles and strengthen pelvic muscles. A since-deleted Goop article also claimed the eggs were 'ideal for detox' and create 'kidney strength.' But soon after the product launched world-leading gynecologist Dr Jen Gunter warned the jade egg could lead to toxic shock syndrome, pelvic pain or painful sex. In an open letter, the author of bestselling books, The Vagina Bible and The Menopause Manifesto, added: 'I read the post on GOOP and all I can tell you is it is the biggest load of garbage I have read on your site since vaginal steaming. 'It's even worse than claiming bras cause cancer. But hey, you aren't one to let facts get in the way of profiting from snake oil.' In 2018, Goop faced legal action, brought by California's consumer protection office, over its unscientific claims about the vaginal eggs and agreed to pay $145,000 (£108,000). Kim Kardashian's 'damaging' weight loss advice In 2018, Kim Kardashian faced fierce backlash over a controversial Instagram post promoting a lollipop which acts as an appetite-suppressant. Kardashian shared an image of herself sucking on the diet snack alongside the caption: 'Plugging the product she captioned the shot: '#ad You guys… @flattummyco just dropped a new product. They're Appetite Suppressant Lollipops and they're literally unreal. Months later, she promoted meal replacement shakes by the same company, claiming she was 'already feeling so good'. At the time, experts argued there was no evidence that this type of diet works well to improve health or even weight loss long term and is only likely to be recommended for severely obese individuals who are at risk of developing diabetes. Even then, this would be done in a controlled environment with medical experts, they added. Months later, following a slew of similar posts by other celebrities, England's top doctor even urged social media companies to ban 'damaging' celebrity-endorsed social media ads promoting weight loss aids. Professor Sir Stephen Powis, the now former NHS medical director, said: 'If a product sounds like it is too good to be true, then it probably is. 'The risks of quick-fix weight loss outweigh the benefits, and advertising these products without a health warning is damaging. 'Highly influential celebrities are letting down the very people who look up to them, by peddling products which are at best ineffective and at worst harmful. 'Social media companies have a duty to stamp out the practice of individuals and companies using their platform to target young people with products known to risk ill health.' 'Snake oil' ear seeds backed by Steven Bartlett Health experts were also stunned last year after Giselle Boxer, from Sheffield, received offers from all six judges on the BBC show Dragons' Den, for a stake in her business Acu Seeds. The mother-of-one ultimately accepted £50,000 from Dragon Steven Bartlett for 12.5 per cent of the business, which sells packets of gold – or silver-plated 'ear seeds' for £30. The seeds, acupuncture beads placed in the ear which falsely claim to cure chronic fatigue condition myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). ME—myalgic encephalomyelitis—is a disabling, complex illness that affects 250,000 people in the UK. Also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME/CFS, symptoms include pain, brain fog, fatigue and an inability to recover after expending even small amounts of energy. The episode prompted a furious backlash from doctors and ME patients, who accused her of selling 'snake oil' preying on the 'most vulnerable and horribly ill people in society' with no scientific backing to help ME. Such was the furore that it sparked complaints to both the BBC and the Advertising Standards Authority. At the time, Professor David Strain, senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter told the Daily Mail: 'There is evidence to suggest acupuncture helps with some types of pain. And some patients I've worked with have said acupuncture has helped with their fatigue. 'There's next to zero evidence ear seeds actually have the same effect as acupuncture.' Tom Cruise's antidepressant rant In a 2005 interview, Tom Cruise criticised actress Brooke Shields' memoir 'Down Came the Rain,' in which she admitted she was prescribed antidepressants to help treat her postnatal depression. He said: 'Here is a woman, and I care about Brooke Shields because I think she is an incredibly talented woman. You look at, where has her career gone?... These drugs are dangerous. 'The thing that I'm saying about Brooke is that there's misinformation. 'She doesn't understand the history of psychiatry... she doesn't know what these drugs are, and for her to promote it is irresponsible.' He added the drugs 'don't cure anything' and said: ''You can use vitamins to help a woman through those things'. Cruise was widely slammed at the time, with Shields taking a swipe at his Scientology beliefs: 'Has he had a baby? Tom should stick to saving the world from aliens and let women decide which treatment is best for them.' In 2006, Shields revealed Cruise had come to her house to personally apologise. Under NHS guidance, antidepressants may be recommended for postnatal depression, particularly for moderate to severe cases or when other treatments, such as talking therapy, has not helped. Doctors will prescribe medication that is safe to take while breastfeeding. Kourtney Kardashian's vaginal wellness gummies She might be one of the world's most famous reality TV stars, but Kourtney Kardashian has since moved into the world of wellness. In 2022, she launched a line of supplements called Lemme, but a year later a new addition to her range—vaginal wellness gummies—sparked fierce backlash from experts. The probiotic claimed to 'specifically target vaginal health and pH levels to support freshness and odour'. But gynecologists said there was 'no merit' to the claim that the tablets can 'target' vaginal wellness. Dr Jen Gunter said: 'Anyone who suggests that your vagina isn't fresh or needs an improved taste is a misogynist and awful person.' LloydsPharmacy also said it was 'normal for vaginas and vaginal fluids to have a slight smell, which will vary according to hormones, activity, hygiene and diet'.
