We object to the injustice when the better-off simply buy what many cannot afford to make up for the deficit. There is a crisis. Great ideals do not come cheap. If we are to achieve the essence of good care for all, then we should be at the top end, not bottom, of spenders on health among first world nations. Even then, and here is the rub, because there will never be enough money it is likely that the queues will persist.
Queues are about sharing what is available.
Unfortunately the idea is winning that sharing health care is unacceptable to middle class consumers. Many of us think there is every reason for concern, if not panic. The problem is not paternalism. It is whether the nation wants the ideal of a National Health Service and, if so, to pay a fair price for it. Your leader is right to stress that the NHS is coping well with the strain imposed by the flu epidemic.