A new report by the Public Accounts Committee examined total funding for a area and calculated the amount invested per head based on GP lists. The Telegraph badly misquotes the report but the essence of it is that given a par value of £1400 per head:

The committee had found “huge variations” in funding with people in Corby receiving £137 per person [below par] compared to £361 per person  [above par] in west London.

If you had employed a doctor directly then that money pays for 46 hours of his time per year – an ample quantity – the problem is that funding really pays for all hospital care, all medicine, all surgery, all rent, heat light and power   for your GP office and the hospital,  and all staff costs at both sites too, presumably including their pensions and taxes. In actual fact your GP is paid about £80 for his labour and a selection of expenses excluding rent. Much less than the price of veterinary insurance for a hamster. If you are in an area with sub-par spending then funding for basic medical help is going to be squeezed unhealthily.

Libertarians do not often talk about policy, not of the kind you might put in your first manifesto, but it is my humble suggestion that patients should be able to top this up. Fortunately it is quite feasible to do that in the commercial or not-for-profit sector without modifying the NHS, and so without the need to win an election. You can register your interest in such products on this site.