... trying to cut away from some of the well meaning self interest on this emotive topic ... my daughter was in the last intake of nurses (thank God) before the idiot who decided nurses need a degree. She has a good friend, employed by NHS, who is an accountant earning £96,000 pa. For decades, along with much of GB general management, there is criminal poor management of most things in the NHS. It's useless politicians who have little knowledge about what makes things work - never mind whether red or blue - which allows out of control senior and middle managers to 'empire build'. The unions, bless them, see this total ineptitude and can play havoc with the useless system. Time to separate front line workers - nurses, ambulance staff, social workers - from the support staff ... although you can bet your life that unions won't go for that. My daughter is now a prescribing nurse ... you can imagine what she thinks about the situation ... NO MORE MONEY FOR THE NHS; CUT THE ADMIN/MANAGEMENT. It's not unlike the miners contempt for surface workers ... history repeating itself in a different form.