I've noticed doctors- GPs anyway- becoming noticeably less arrogant over the years. We had a doctor about ten years ago who was brusque and dismissive in the approved style; she went away on a retraining course and came back nice as pie. Since then all our GPs have been darlings.

Personally, I've nothing but praise for the NHS. Our local hospital- Oldham Royal- has a proud record (it's where Steptoe "created" the first test tube baby) and it treated Ailz wonderfully when she was rushed in- some years back- with an exploding gall bladder. On the other hand, Ashton General- the flagship hospital for the authority next door- has a terrible reputation.