Task 1. Read the text

Private Medicine is Concerned about the National Health

Private medicine is a part of the national health. A vital part, it contributes a good deal to the National Health Service. For example, pay beds in NHS hospitals will give 240 million annually to the financially-stretched National Health Service.

But it’s not just a matter of money. Private medicine preserves everyone’s right to freedom of choice. Some million people choose to go privately when they need treatment. The vast majority are ordinary men and women and their families. They budget for health protection from their earnings through organizations such as ours. What’s more, over eight people out of every ten (82%) believe in the right to pay for private medicine.

What’s the Government up to? If it doesn’t make financial sense and the vast majority don’t want it, why are the Government proposing legislation to phase out pay beds and control private medicine? And why do they want to introduce it in advance of the findings of the Royal Commission on Health?

Patients before Politics. A doctor’s loyalty is to his patients. That’s why the Medical Profession has always shown itself to be completely opposed to any political suggestion that the patient’s freedom of choice should be tampered with. Such suggestions are rife today. The issue at stake is not just one of professional freedom but also of patient freedom.