Health Bill [HL]

My Lords, the National Health Service is a great service, but it is 60 years old. I have previously called for a royal commission on the service, but that has been refused. Perhaps with the constitution we have the next best thing, in what is a centralised health service. I hope the constitution works, although in parts it has a whiff of regimentation about it—probably the last thing you want in a health service. My first comment about the constitution relates to page 13 of the handbook to the constitution, which says this: "““What this right means for patients … NHS services are generally provided free of charge””." That is the wrong message. They are not provided free of charge; they are paid for in advance. The cost to each person is quite high at £1,700 per annum, which means that a family of four pays on average £6,800 per annum for the NHS.