Introduction
An interesting question is whether a person with cancer or tuberculosis can work hard. This is really important since the treatment of such diseases is an extremely expensive process. Hudson in Clients, Consumers Or Citizens? claims that seriously ill people not only do not work but have zero income. Modern society strives for humanity and mutual respect, ignoring the hopelessness of the situation of such individuals. A relatively small group of medical institutions is ready to provide free necessary assistance in the fight against dangerous diseases.
Free medical care should be guaranteed for people with the greatest needs and severe illnesses.
An increasing number of people are becoming seriously ill for a variety of reasons. Hudson’s book emphasizes the deterioration of the ecological situation and the quality of food. The danger of diseases lies in their high mortality and, in some situations, contagiousness. The problem is aggravated by the high cost of treating diseases such as cancer, tuberculosis, pneumonia and syphilis. This is just a small list, but these diseases are the most common compared to other severe types.
I decided to pay special attention to the existence of a lack of treatment in seriously ill people. We will analyze why the solution of this issue is necessary and consider my version of dealing with this problem.
Medical Care Guarantees
At the moment, there are no guarantees for severely needy and seriously ill individuals that they will be provided with quality free medical care.
It is worth highlighting that serious illnesses are becoming relevant not only for specific social groups but also for entire regions.
Every year in some parts of the planet, the number of people with serious diseases is growing. Hudson notes that in Eastern Europe, the incidence of tuberculosis is extremely high, reaching up to 56% of the total population. Considering that this disease is contagious and lethal, it poses a threat to all of humanity.
In such regions, there is no or only partially implemented free medical care. In fact, as Hudson writes, only 16% of the seriously ill population continue to work in such a way as to be able to provide themselves with the necessary and high-quality treatment. The rest are forced to deal with the problem on their own, which is impossible from the point of view of biology.
Free medical care for those in need is a rare and inaccessible phenomenon, the quality of which is much lower than paid counterparts.
On the one hand, it cannot be denied that there is still an opportunity to receive free qualified assistance for seriously ill people. Due to the small number of such organizations, Hudson notes such a negative effect as the appearance of queues of patients. There are not enough specialists to help all the population in need. Therefore, the sick only wait while the disease progresses.
Another negative element of the current free medical care is the extremely low quality of the services provided. Hudson notes that physicians often treat patients as clients, relying on business relationships and profits. In a free form of medicine, this is done, which gives rise to the indifference and irritability of specialists.
The main fault of the emergence of such a problem lies with the state structure, which aimed only at making profits and profitable programs.
I assume that the cause of the problem is behavioral rather than structural. The fact is that in today’s world, a kind of cult of money is being created, ignoring the problems and needs of people and aimed at maximizing profits. Hudson is also convinced that professionals refuse to work with non-paying clients, considering it a disadvantageous process. In other words, either ideological people or professionals who need to gain experience or prove themselves go to this area. The state also prefers not to provide for seriously ill people, as it sees no financial benefit in this.
Inadequacy of status quo
Current public policy in all areas is aimed at promoting humanity and caring for those in need. People create foundations and charitable donations, and support the victims of wars of political repression. The state forms a system of insurance and social assistance in the form of payments or benefits for those who need it.
In fact, the idea of humanizing society is a little ambiguous because it seems hypocritical. In other words, individuals promote help and support to those in need, but only in specific areas where it is possible to become well-known personalities. Hudson notes that there have been a fair number of investigations into the fact that famous people are trying to gain popularity through the manipulation of promised feelings. In fact, a huge number of seriously ill and needy people continue to suffer and be marginalized due to the lack of opportunities both to recover and work. Indeed, the state allocates funds for the payment of benefits and insurance. However, the treatment of, for example, cancer is so expensive that government assistance does not cover such costs.
We need to open more places for free care for seriously ill people and ensure this opportunity for all those in need.
First of all, it is worth analyzing the example of a state where a system of free treatment of serious illnesses already exists, for example, Russia. Hudson notes that the local health care system is designed in such a way that there are medical policies that cover several needs of each citizen. In particular, it includes the treatment of serious illnesses such as pneumonia, cancer, or tuberculosis. However, paid medical care also exists, so people always have a choice, and the state does not go into negative spending. This system is not ideal due to the fact that the quality of free services is low. In order to avoid such nuance, it is necessary to establish a higher salary for specialists in this field. The introduction of such a document will make it possible to guarantee stable, free assistance to everyone in need.
First of all, due to the introduction of the document, a database will appear where no patient will be forgotten or ignored. More clinics will help to avoid the phenomenon of a long queue of patients. Finally, raising the wages of workers will lead to an increase in their efficiency and hence the overall quality of free services. Preserving the possibility of paid expensive treatment will allow the state to save revenues.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is worth repeating that the number of seriously ill and needy is growing yearly. The state structure is to blame for this, ignoring needs and aiming at deriving benefits and earnings. This leads to a lack of opportunities to receive free assistance, which gives rise to mortality and the spread of dangerous diseases.
The way out of this situation will be to increase the places of free medical care and introduce a system of guarantees of opportunities for those in need.
This process will not be implemented immediately due to its scale. However, this does not mean that we should not work on it, as the problem continues to be relevant. It is worth noting that if we aim at humanity and mutual respect, we must be consistent to the end.
Reference
Hudson, B. (2021). Clients, consumers or citizens? The privatization of adult social care in England. Policy Press.