Of course, there is an element of truth in the image: decisions must be made about priorities and as a result some people will live and some die. But in contemplating my own fate in this respect, I find I remain utilitarian to the core of my soul. Nobody has ever accused me of low self-esteem and I certainly don't think I'm worthless, but neither do I think I have a right to all possible treatments regardless of expense just to keep me alive. The NHS may may make some sort of claim to offer universal and immediate health care, but it really lives by the perfectly proper hypocrisy which allows it to distribute scarce resources as seems best for the aggregate.

Finally, a trivial remark on style. The predominant style of NHS hospitals is a kind of proley chumminess, cheery and egalitarian, without the respect due to a paying customer. Not everybody would like it, but I do. I especially enjoyed observing how a South Indian or Filipino nurse would greet me in a style learned from their Midlands co-workers, but in their own accent, as in, "All right, darling? You ready for a cuppa?"