"If you've been unfortunate enough to be sick or suffer as a result of an accident overseas, you wouldn't need to ask that question." This is just narrow minded rubbish. Public healthcare in most developed world countries is comparable to that in the UK overall, and certainly measured in terms of health outcomes e.g. cancer survival rates the NHS is nothing special Narrow minded really? So rubbishing an alternate view to yours is not? I bow to your overwhelming and superior knowledge. You talk of cuts in industry being needed from time to time and that the health service is no different. Actually there is, unless of course human life is now to be treated as commodity. Good luck with that.