Torrevieja Forum

[old boy]

The UK's National Lottery has not been sold off; your chum in the bar is way off base, again. I believe that the operator (Camelot) of the NL may have been sold, but they only operate it under licence from the government. Camelot are paid a fixed percentage, 5% is the figure I believe, to run NL for a fixed period, at which time companies will be invited to tender for the next operating licence.

The government still receives the same percentage of the income stream that they always have. And I also believe that some of that money does go towards the NHS.

[freddo]

As of 2005, each pound (100p) spent on the National Lottery is split as follows:[22]

50p Prize fund
28p Good causes
12p Government
5p Retailers as commission [23]
5p Camelot
4.5p Camelot for operating costs
0.5p Camelot for profit
Footnotes[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b Camelot is a private limited company; its entire share issue is owned by a single shareholder.
Jump up ^ The National Lottery brand is owned by the Gambling Commission and licensed to Camelot as part of the franchise agreements under which Camelot operate The National Lottery.

[cameron]

I would Rather be here than UK if I had serious medical issues, unfortunately I don’t think Kev has yet realized he lives in Spain.

[old boy]

You need to read beyond a misleading headline. These are the first two paragraphs from that 2010 article:

National Lottery operator Camelot has been sold to a Canadian teachers' pension fund for £389m.

The company, currently owned by a consortium that includes Cadbury, has been running the UK's National Lottery since it began in 1994.

It states quite clearly that the operator, the company known still as Camelot, was sold. It also says that the company had been in private i.e. not government, hands since 1994.

So I repeat, and as Freddo has also said, the National Lottery belongs to the state, and the government at the time licences the winning bidding company that tenders to operate the lottery on behalf of the government.

There is plenty of articles on the internet that will confirm this. It belongs to the state, and as long as a company (or a pension scheme in this case) is deemed fit and proper to operate the lottery, the government will allow it purchase the company that currently holds the licence. That is what happened in 2010, and from memory, I believe that Camelot won a further tendering process between then and now.

[Jimbo1916]

I know certain people dont want to talk about the uk any more, however if they were to suffer a life changing illness here, many would soon have no choice other than to return to the uk, at least after a decade or so of living here, the al fresco nhs service won’t be too much of a shock to them.

Why would people with a serious illness chose to return to UK? Surely if they were here long term they would have Spanish cover.

Exactly. We`ve heard nothing but good reports about the Spanish health service and what dealings we`ve had with it in living here for nearly twenty years have been excellent .... And we have no worries whatsoever for medical future however serious it gets .. But then we`re not habitual whiners and moaners like some on here and are very happy with our lot here in Spain....our home.

So what`s happening to the NHS is the least of our worries.

[Jimbo1916]

I would Rather be here than UK if I had serious medical issues, unfortunately I don’t think Kev has yet realized he lives in Spain.

And never will...

[freddo]

Kev
It is not the National Lottery that has been sold it is the company that run it Camelot and that link was from 2010

[old boy]

And for those that just like to point fingers at the UK and how the NHS manages in winter, might I suggest that you look at the front page of yesterday's RTN which describes the problems facing the health service in Spain.

And which also includes a graphic picture of patients lying on medical gurneys queueing in a corridor awaiting treatment or beds.

[Jimbo1916]

And for those that just like to point fingers at the UK and how the NHS manages in winter, might I suggest that you look at the front page of yesterday's RTN which describes the problems facing the health service in Spain.

And which also includes a graphic picture of patients lying on medical gurneys queueing in a corridor awaiting treatment or beds.

According to the article, the flu virus isn`t helping in what is normally a difficult situation.

[TVTechnology]

Not sure how we went from 'NHS parking' to NHS vs Spanish health service.

In my experience of both - using the Spanish 14 years and do flit in and out of the UK, so have used both over the years.

Spanish system is better. Blood tests and testing, in general, is far more comprehensive than it is in UK hospitals. As is general patient observation and keeping you in a bed when you need it.

On my visit to Vega Baja hospital, I did not see anyone lying in a hallway waiting for a non-existent bed.

Shorter waiting time for treatments and to see specialist staff.

Pretty clear to me. Only disadvantage is the struggle with the Spanish language, but if really stuck i'd pay a translator as it's better to be a little poorer and healthier, than dead or sick through lack of decent treatment.

I think the real truth is that as those of a certain age feel their time creeping towards an end, they panic - want familiarity , that's their own language and more importantly their family. Nothing to do with the health service - a justification to go back to the arms of those closest to, when you have little time left. Understandable.