I listened to a government spokesman this morning talk about how they were going to improve the NHS by empowering clinicians. This is no doubt a good idea, but I believe that what increases quality is giving users choice, and therefore competition between providers.

The NHS should still be free for all at the point of use, but health services should be funded and regulated by the government but not run by them. Private companies and other organization should run hospitals (Virgin, Tesco, Hilton etc.) and the patients should be able to choose between them.