We have a very warped sense of 'worth' in this country.
The people who really matter and make a difference, such as nurses, doctors, teachers, care workers, etc..etc are not always treated well.
Then we have the parasite economy. Selfish individuals involved in finance, or unproductive 'celebs' such as footballers and racing drivers. Such people tend to have an inflated opinion of their worth and think the country will fall apart without their contribution. It won't.
Society worked for centuries without doctors and nurses, they are a relatively modern invention.
Well no, not quite. We know physicians were at work in ancient Egypt around 3,000 BC, and one of the first "doctors", Hippocrates (as in the oath), considered to be the father of modern medicine, was advancing his and other doctors skills from around 460 to 370 BC.
Throughout the ages since that time doctors have advanced the skills at an increasing rate, with both the 19th and 20th century seeing the most rapid progress.
The important point to remember though, throughout those early ages, access to treatment depended on your wealth, your power, and importance to the state, such as those in the military. If you did not meet that criteria you simply struggled to get well, maybe sought help from herbal remedies (mistaken for witchcraft from the 15th to 18th centuries), or just died anyway.
It was only from the 18th century that doctors officially gave "voluntary" or as we would recognise today, "charity" treatment. This was helped by the creation of hospitals like the London Infirmay, from 1748 the London Hospital (now the Royal London Hospital) that was built to specifically give medical treatment at low, or sometimes no cost, to the poor of the East End and hospitals like these grew in number as the industrial revolution made it an economic sense to provide such care.
However, it was not until the creation of the NHS in Britain in 1948 that treatment was given "free to all at the point of entry's". At last the hard working people of industry had the type of treatment previously reserved for the ruling classes and their servants; people prepared to fight and die for them. No longer did the poor need to suffer and die, even though there had been doctors around for centuries who could have treated them.
Pay the doctors and nurses as much as we can afford, as if and when you or a loved one are writhing in pain, you will regret that you did not when that staff do not exist in the number we need.
As for who is worth what? That is the big socialist argument is it not? Every WORKING person is contributing an essential element to our society. The non-working mothers of young children at home are equally contributing. It was / is the wealthy and powerful ruling classes who degraded the importance of the individual in terms of pounds, shilling and pence; their ability to give maximum working output or ability to fight on the battlefield. True Socialists will always believe that no one should gain on the back of others and we should all share in the profits of pooled labour. I personally do not believe "every one is equal" in such a black and white way, but the massive inaqualites that still exist out there are wrong. Work hard and you should be fully rewarded in relation to the profits generated, not at the minimum wage.
So, lift all the pay caps on public workers to get the best, in quantity, that the public need, before we all suffer further from the shortages and shortfalls seen to date. To pay for this taxes MUST be raised. Failure to take this action now will result in a "no doctors" situation, relatively speaking