14th January 2018

In The Times yesterday: French Hospital Offers Help For Cancelled NHS Operations. That headline epitomises the differences. Both countries have a similar population, each has excellent health staff, yet the system in one works perfectly; in the other it doesn’t. Why? For we who have experienced both, the answer’s obvious. It’s human nature that if, for 70 years, something is offered free of charge to all, it will be abused. In a nutshell, every sore finger ends up in A & E. Ask any Frenchman and he’ll say he’s entirely satisfied and proud of health care there. The French government pays 70%, the citizen 30%, the latter free to the low-paid and longterm sick/disabled. The rest have access to subsidised top up insurance (not commercialised as in the US) to cover the 30%. Everyone legally entitled to live there has a coveted carte vitale. Every ambulance/medic/pharmacy etc thereby gets instant digital access to your medical history, essential in emergencies. Wake up Britain. Time to learn from Macron when he visits on Thursday.