Yes, toenails are not a good example. I’m referring to cases that require operating theatre time – there will always be a small number of non-urgent cases that are deferred in favour of emergency situations. But you need to contrast any delay in the UK with the situation in the US, where many people cannot get treated at all for conditions such as hernias unless they present in ER or manage to get on charity programs, and of course the growth of treatment overseas is testimony to the unaffordability of treatment at home.

Maybe it’s just a bad example. I’ll give you that, but so far I’m not following.

Huh? I don’t understand. The facts are that only about 1% of NHS operations are cancelled, many by patients themselves, and often because the date has actually been brought forward. Catron was implying that many are dying because they do not get operations – there is no evidence that life saving procedures such as breast cancer surgery are not being done, but yes, some non-life threatening procedures are sometimes postponed to make way for more urgent cases, and that’s the same in any country. Many Americans of course live indefinitely with operable conditions because they can’t afford the bills.

This borders on incoherent, Marc. Does the NHS have its surgical oncologists moonlighting as podiatrists or something?

It’s about access to healthcare. Now perhaps you’d like to address the questions I asked you.

‘Everyone is “coveredâ€? in your country, yet thousands die every year waiting for tests and surgeries that keep getting bumped from the schedule. See this article.’

No – there is no evidence in this article or any other that ‘thousands die every year waiting for tests and surgeries’ in the UK. Please produce this evidence if you have it. As you well know, nearly all postponed procedures are for non-life threatening conditions such as ingrowing toenails. Meanwhile there is documented evidence in the US for excess deaths due to lack of health insurance.