The relationship between private and state health care

Abstract

At present there appears to be a big divide between State Medicine and Private Medicine both at Primary Care Level, for instance in the relationship between the General Practitioner and the Health Centres, as well as in the relationship between Private Hospitals and State Hospitals. The divide between the State hospitals and private hospitals is so wide that one could well say that at present little co-operation exists between State and private hospitals. This lack of collaboration between the two sectors renders both State and private systems inefficient. It is detrimental to the patient, and ultimately costs the country money we can ill afford to waste.