Health rationing - the results

Health Week
By David Fenton
BBC South Health Correspondent

Could the cost of Herceptin be better spent on other patients

All this week we have been asking people to vote on how they would prioritise healthcare.

If there are limited funds and almost unlimited demand - how should the NHS ration its resources?

Well, the results are in and they have proved quite surprising.

We gave six options to choose from.

Should it be the young that get priority, because they have their whole lives ahead of them?

Should it be the elderly, because they've paid into the NHS for longest? Maybe it should be the poor, or those who would benefit most from any treatment, or those who look after themselves.

Whereas we all see the arguments for getting a particular treatment, we often don't see the consequences of having to pay for that treatment David Fenton

Or maybe we should all just pay more taxes, and treat everyone.

The results show an overwhelming support for the last option.

Seventy five per cent of people thought that we should pay more, and get a fully comprehensive NHS, treating everyone as much as possible.

Although these results are by no means scientific, they do seem to indicate that either the people who called in are wedded to the idea of having an inclusive NHS - whatever the cost - or they suggest that making decisions which effectively gives treatment to some people, and denies it to others, is very difficult.

But of course those decisions are made all the time within the NHS.

Just look at the arguments over the cancer drug Herceptin. Could the £30,000 that it costs to give one patient Herceptin be better spent on saving heart attack victims?

Complicated picture

How many hip operations could you buy for that? Which patients are likely to lose out - if there is £30,000 less in the kitty?

Health professionals must weigh up these arguments, over cost, the effectiveness of treatment and the benefit that patients gain from them, all the time.

And whereas we all see the arguments for getting a particular treatment, we often don't see the consequences of having to pay for that treatment, when there is no extra money available.

It's a complicated picture.

But many people - inside and outside the health service - believe that it's time we had a more honest and open debate about rationing.

---

Click here to share your NHS experiences