Privatising the NHS: Pros and Cons

This assignment, based on an article from The Week, requires you to evaluate the pros and cons of privatising the NHS. After researching the topic, you'll write an essay arguing your stance while acknowledging counterarguments. Ensure your work is well-structured with an introduction, body paragraphs containing arguments, evidence, and linking words, and a conclusion. Use at least four sources, combining them effectively, and follow Harvard Style for citations and references.

English for Academic Purposes 2
(EAPB3017)
Name:
Student Number:
Tutor name:
This is your English for Academic Purposes 2 e-portfolio which you must submit on Thursday
24th August 2017 by 2pm via the Student Portal. This should be completed throughout the
course and you must make sure you save your work regularly (e.g. on your computer, on a
USB stick, on email or on the Cloud drive). Please refer to suggested word counts for each
task included within this portfolio.
Assessed Learning Outcomes:
1. Produce elements of a cohesive and coherent researched essay
2. Listen to an academic lecture whilst taking coherent notes
3. Read, compare and summarise a number of written academic texts.
Week Table of Contents Pag
e
Learning
Outcome
Completed?
()

Portfolio Tasks
(These tasks
should be
developed
throughout the
term but
completed by
Thursday 24
August 2017 by
2pm)
1 Where are you now? 2 LO 1, 2 & 3 ☐
1 Personal Development Plan
[suggested word count: 100 - 150] 3 LO 1, 2 & 3 ☐
2 – 9 Organising your ideas
[suggested word count: varies per task] 4 LO 1 & 3 ☐
6 Making notes with confidence
(200 words) 6 LO 2 ☐
3 – 8 Developing your arguments
[suggested word count: varies per task] 8 LO 1, 2 & 3 ☐
6 – 9 Writing your argumentative essay
(900 words) 10 LO 1 & 3 ☐
10 Getting a First! 11 LO 1 & 3 ☐
2

Total word limit:
Final task: Argumentative essay (900 words) (+/- 10%)
Track your progress by ticking off each task as you complete it, in the final column
PORTFOLIO TASK
Week 1: Where are you now?
Below is a list of the skills you will need when working on extended pieces of writing during your university
career. Using the list from EAP 1, put a cross (X) in the same boxes for each skill in the first column, and tick ()
the appropriate box for each skill in the second column, according to how well you think you can do this now.
You should refer to the checklist throughout the course and decide whether you have made any progress with
these skills.
Skill This is new for
me
I need to
develop this
skill
I can improve
this skill
Looking for information
Identify which book / journals/ websites
to use ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Select relevant parts of a text ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Using sources
Acknowledge sources of information ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Write a reference list correctly ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Avoid plagiarism ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Planning/Writing
Brainstorm ideas ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Plan written work ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Link ideas effectively ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Paraphrase & summarise ideas ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
2

Write an introduction ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Write a conclusion ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Personal Study
Work independently ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Manage my time ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Oral Presentation
Brainstorm ideas with peers ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Discuss written work in a tutorial ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
IT
Access the internet ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Use search engines ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Create word documents ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Use PowerPoint ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
PORTFOLIO TASK
2

Week 1: Personal Development Plan (PDP): Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Realistic – Timescale [SMART]
2

You are required to develop a Personal Development Plan (PDP), which includes goals for the development of
your academic skills after the completion of the module. This should include skills we cover on this module. To
help you, write down the strengths and weaknesses you listed in EAP 1 in the box below, which can also be
from your feedback. Use complete sentences.
Strengths
In order to take advantage of self capabilities it is very necessary that an
individual is aware about his personal qualities so that according he can use same
in their daily work. There are different areas in which I am good at which are given
below in detail:
 I am good at influencing other to follow what I am saying as I can motivate
others to do a particular task
 I have patience and can listen to what the other person is saying without
losing interest in the subject matter.
 I am confident and keep positive attitude towards every situation
Weakness
No person is perfect and lacks at some areas same is the case with me. I
also have various weaknesses like I am not good at learning new things. I take
time to understand a basic matter.
Now think about what you would like to improve. Be specific when describing your goals and how you will
achieve and measure them. (100 – 150 words)
Target Goal Action Success Criteria
e.g. To have clear paragraphs To produce an outline before writing The reader can identif
topic/ideas of those
paragraphs
1 Developing patience I need to be self controlled. I will try to reduce
my total mistakes
by working
on them.
2 Understanding fresh skills I will go through various online sites to
discover new software and will learn to
operate same.
Will try to learn
Java.
3 Increase language knowledge Through tutorials on net I will learn French. Will complete
learning French in
six months.
PORTFOLIO TASK
3

Week 3: Organising your ideas: Are my sources reliable?
2

Look at the table below. Using the sources you have found (not from GSM Learn or the reading list), answer
the questions below to determine if they are reliable. Make notes.
Source 1 Source 2
Who wrote/said it? Friends Family
Are they qualified to speak on this topic? Yes No
Do they have a personal interest in that
issue?
Yes No
What type of source is it? Primary Primary
Has it been verified in any way? Can it be
proved?
No No
Is there evidence to support this claim? Yes Yes
Was the source created to persuade, sell,
entertain, inform or for another
purpose?
Entertain Asked about my weak points
Is the content relevant to your research? Yes Up to a limit
When was it published/last updated? NO NO
Does this impact its relevance or
objectivity?
No No
Give the full references of both your sources here in Harvard Style:
To format the text, highlight the word(s) or line of text you want to change and select the required formatting
option (colour change, bold, italics etc.).

PORTFOLIO TASK
Week 4-9: Organising your ideas: Noting down the main points
In the space below, create an outline for your essay by making notes about any information you find from class
or reading list sources and from the two sources you found. Use bullet points and not full sentences. Include
in-text citations where necessary. You should add to this throughout the course. (150 – 200 words)
Essay Question:
Should the NHS be privatised?
Arguments in Favour (Yes) Arguments against (No)
Economic
It should not be privatised. Given below
are few statements in support of my
choice:
It is observed that in private clinics
doctors do not get time to give training
to the interns who are practising with
them in order to gain knowledge as their
main motive is to earn profit and more
emphasis is done in increasing total
revenue instead of giving learning to
those who are working under them. On
the other hand as in government
hospitals daily footfall of patients is
more it increases the pressure of
increasing the total services which
provide a good platform for new
trannies to enhance their knowledge.
It is the combination of all those factors
which are influenced by any change in the
existing economic status of society as the
external environment is dynamic in nature
and can not be controlled by any individuals.
As the cited sector need to be developed
effectively it is important that much
investment is done in acquiring the best
technology. Initially it was started with the
view of providing free or reduced price
services to the clients and therefore if the
whole department is given under the control
of different private individuals than it will be
a fear of loosing principle motive of giving
the low income group people equal
advantages of using the same medical
facilities.
On the other hand it is observed that those
services which are given by the central body
are more cost effective and also their scope of
operations are wide as funds are available in
huge quantity. The most positive point of
having the control of government in the
health services are this way everyone will be
treated equally and no discrimination will be
done on the basis of status caste or
favouritism as noticed in the private sector.
Social
Providing different individuals with
effective quality services is a major concern
in health care department. Who so ever is is
engage in this sectors needs to ensure that
no compromise with the patients life is
done by doing careless acts or keeping the
primary motive as profit earning. It is
observed in many cases that even if the
diseased person is not suffering from much
severe ill health he is asked to go through
various tests just to increase the total bill. It
is an exploitation of society and this way
people start loosing trust from various
service providers.
Apart from this it is also noticed that many
times the private hospitals do manipulations
in giving their products to the clients. High
cost is charged by them and patients made
bound to buy those from their retail outlets
only which is also a major social cause as
Contradict to this all the work related to the
government bodies are done at reduced price
and only the minimum amount is charged
against the service given. This way society
development is done as everyone is provided
with the required resources and facilities
which are needed in order to sustain good
health. Before few years it was detected that
private hospitals are engage in practices like
keeping dead bodies in the ICU and not
informing their families about the same. This
was done in order to increase the total bill so
that profitability can be raised by them which
is the ultimate goal of any private business.
On the other hand it is found difficult to get
beds in the government hospitals as they
provide the same treatment to patients at very
reduced cost and hence they are not at all
involved with any chat acts.

this way the patients need to pay high for
the same services which can be procured
even at low cost.
PORTFOLIO TASK
Developing your arguments: Paraphrasing/Summarising
Choose one aspect (e.g. Economic or Social) and summarise and/or paraphrase the main points you noted in
the outline on page 5. Use complete sentences and include in-text citations where necessary. (150 - 200
words).
Arguments in favour (Yes):
Government sector are more responsible and take care of society. Their prime aim is not profit earning but to
do the overall betterment of the economy and human beings.
Arguments against (No):
Private sector exploit the common men and so activities which are not in the favour of society.

PORTFOLIO TASK
Week 5: Developing your arguments: Combining sources
Using the summaries you wrote in the previous task, combine them below to create the first body paragraph
of your essay. Use the guide below to help you and highlight each part with the same colour. (250 – 300
words)
Body paragraph 1
Say why this is a key issue (e.g. Economic/Social)
(this is your topic sentence)
What is the counter-argument of this issue?
(this is the opinion you do not agree with)
What is the main argument if this issue?
(this is your opinion)
Why is your argument stronger than the counter-argument?
What evidence/examples do you have to support this?
What can you conclude from this? What are the implications?
You should use at least 2 sources in this paragraph.
It is a sensitive topic as related to the health care of general public. It is important to disscuss the subject
matter as it has major effect on the status of the society.

PORTFOLIO TASK
Making notes with confidence
This is an in-class activity. Please upload a photo of your notes here.

Write a summary about what you have just listened to. (No more than 100 words)
The present legal authority has a choice of deciding weather the health department needs to be privatise or
should be keep it in his own control. People do not want to compromise with their heath and ned to be
protected against any exploitation from private individuals.
Write a response to the opinions given. (No more than 100 words).
According to the research I can say that health care department should be given under the control of legal
authority in order to ensure growth and development of society.

PORTFOLIO TASK
Week 7-9: Writing your argumentative essay
Using the same process you did for the first body paragraph, complete your essay below.
(900 words: +/- 10%)
The NHS should be privatised. Discuss
National health service is the department which is related to the physical well being of the general
public. It started on appointed day which was on 5th July 1948. this sector is working independently in
UK without any intervention of government although each department is answerable to the
government about its operations. In order to understand weather the health sector should be privatise or
not. As it is a sensitive part of society more care needs to be given to subject matter. Any wrong
practice or carelessness if observed in this department may lead to great loss and therefore it is
important that it is controlled and managed by responsible authorities. This shows that government
involvement should be maintain in health care department so that it can be improved and everyone can
take the benefit from the same. In order to understand why it is important that the services of well
being should be under the control of government different factors need to be analysed like economic
and social. These are the external surroundings which has major effect on the services of any section of
society. As this is a very important sector it requires maximum care. Development of country depends
so much on the status of general public as only if their care is ensured they can contribute in the total
economy. As the society consist of variety of people like some may afford to pay high and other may
not it is important that everyone gets equal chance of getting good treatments which is a basic right of
any citizen. Therefore it shows how it is better to have the health and care department under the
control of system of rules. If the total well being is not ensured than it gives a negative image about the
country which is another major concern and therefore only government can take this issue as on a
serious note and hence duty should be given to it to ensure its growth. Different elements of pestle are
discussed in detail which shows why it is said that health care services should not be privatise as their
negatives are given below supported with the positive of having government control over the same.
Regardless of total expense the core focus of the official governing bodies are on reducing the
complains of general public in order to increase their level of satisfaction. With this another major
social concern is private colleges charge high fees to give the medical degrees and some are that costly
that it becomes difficult for a normal person to go with it. Due to tough competition in the government
colleges students finds it difficult to get admissions in them advantage of which is enjoyed by the other
profit motive institutions. Apart from this it is also observed that when services are under the control of
private bodies than it will lead to fragmented practices which is not health for the patients. Whereas
when the diseased person are handled by public authorities it is ensured that people will not be cheated
and also their exploitation will not be done as care is given at a very nominal charges which can be
afforded by all easily. More benefit that can be observed when legal authorities take the responsibility
of this sector is more interpretation of the variety of problems can be done and also the outputs of each
hospitals can be used for future procedures. Issues of poor will be resolved quickly as they are ensured
that services will be given at reduce prices and also no compromise will be done with the quality of
service. Another major concern with the privatisation of these services is its adverse affect on the
education level which directly effects the economy of UK.
Another important issue regarding the privatisation of heath and care is under this system the
transparency gets reduced or do not exists. In order to pay less taxes individuals show less revenues
hide their total income. This encourages wrong practices and it becomes difficult to calculate the actual
spending of a particular time period. This shows how by making the health care department a private
concern economy can face various issues. Hence, it can be summarised that health and care is a very
sensitive sector and need to be given under control of that authority which is capable of taking good
responsibility. Given text highlighted the various negative effects of having this sector under the
management of individuals as they exploit the patients for their personal interest and give less
importance to the upliftment of society. Hence, it is suggested that this part of public welfare is given

to the body in control so that betterment of those who are in need of care can be ensured. As the
private companies operate with the prime motive of profit earning it is better that such department fall
under the control of one who do not give much importance to maximisation of wealth.
Reference List
Books and Journals
Frith, L., 2013. The NHS and market forces in healthcare: the need for organisational ethics. Journal of
medical ethics. 39(1). pp.17-21.
Hunter, D. J., 2013. Will 1 April mark the beginning of the end of England's NHS? Yes.BMJ: British Medical
Journal (Online).346.
Leys, C. and Player, S., 2011. The plot against the NHS.Renewal: a Journal of Labour Politics.19(2). p.64.
Nagendran and et.al., 2010. Should the NHS be privatized? Annual varsity medical debate-London, 22 January
2010.Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine.5(1). p.7.
Raco, M., 2014. The post-politics of sustainability planning: Privatisation and the demise of democratic
government. pp. 25-47. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Wallace, A. and Taylor‐Gooby, P., 2010. New labour and reform of the English NHS: user views and attitudes.
Health expectations. 13(2). pp.208-217.
Online
The pros and cons of privatising the NHS.2012. Availabe through <http://www.theweek.co.uk/nhs/63360/pros-
and-cons-of-privatising-the-nhs-could-it-ever-work> [Accessed on 22nd July 2017].
PORTFOLIO TASK
Week 10: Getting a First!
Tick (✓) the appropriate column to check that your essay has included the necessary parts to help it get as
high a grade as possible!
Good
evidence
Some
evidence
Insufficient
evidence
Knowledge and
understanding
Have you worked through the tasks in this portfolio? ☐ ☐ ☐
Have you paraphrased/summarised ideas effectively? ☐ ☐ ☐
Do your portfolio tasks show understanding of the essay writing
process? ☐ ☐ ☐
Have you researched and supported your ideas with evidence
and examples? ☐ ☐ ☐
Cognitive/Intellectual
Skills
Does your essay include an introduction and conclusion? ☐ ☐ ☐
Do your body paragraphs contain a counter-argument,
argument & evidence/examples, using appropriate linking
words?
☐ ☐ ☐

Have you used at least 4 sources (2 of them can be from class or
reading list) & combined your sources effectively? ☐ ☐ ☐
Have you made your opinions clear? ☐ ☐ ☐
Graduate: Transferable
Employability & Practical
Skills
Are you within the word count? ☐ ☐ ☐
Have you checked for spelling, grammar and punctuation
mistakes? ☐ ☐ ☐
Have you used appropriate academic style and appropriate
vocabulary? ☐ ☐ ☐
Have you included in-text citations and a reference list that
follow Harvard Style? ☐ ☐ ☐
Do you show good awareness of your strengths and weaknesses
(skills audit and PDP target)? ☐ ☐ ☐