The NHS simply cannot cure the rest of the world - EXPRESS COMMENT
WHEN the National Health Service was founded in 1948, the idea was that it would provide medical care for the people in this country who would in return pay for it through taxation and national insurance.
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It was not founded to provide medical care for the rest of the world. And yet that is what has been happening: record numbers of ineligible women have been having their babies using the NHS, leaving a bill of at least £10million – which the British taxpayer is forced to pay.
This is turning into a major scandal. While the vast majority of people would feel sympathy for mothers-to-be in a country without proper medical welfare, we simply cannot afford to take on the problems of everyone else and throw money at them – we have enough of our own.
And given the inordinate amount we already spend on foreign aid, could it not be said that we have done our bit in that respect without dragging in the NHS? The National Health Service is just that – national, not international.
We are frequently being told that it requires ever more funding but if scandals such as this are the reason it is running short of money then the hospitals involved must do more to ensure they are treating the right people.
And they are the people who are actually paying for the service, namely those resident in the UK.
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Leave the City out of it
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THE new year has begun and it is time to show the EU that we are not going to capitulate in our talks over a trade deal, especially when it comes to the City of London.
Our financial services centre is the envy of the world, especially the European part of it, and it will remain that way.
If Brussels tries to cherry-pick a deal to punish the City then we must simply see them off.
As we have noted here before, a combination of language, geographical location and expertise make the City unique in global terms let alone European ones and that will not change whatever the antics of the unelected bureaucrats in Brussels.
We are certain Brexit Secretary David Davis will make that clear whatever “thunder and lightning” lies ahead. Now let the talks begin.
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Real Hollywood royalty
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IT WOULD appear that on their new year trip to the Riviera Prince Harry and Meghan Markle met Prince Albert of Monaco.
A better confidant it is hard to imagine. Albert’s mother, Grace Kelly, gave up a Hollywood career to marry into royalty, just as Meghan is doing.
We are sure the Prince had some pretty sound advice.
