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NHS Reforms
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Following on from this thread, it was only time before I suppose I need to post something more serious about the proposed NHS Reforms.
So I have a few links for you and a few comments but ultimately I have a question at the end....
So let's start with David Cameron slamming "pointless reorganisation" in the NHS
We can then look at the Conservative Manifesto 2010 and their comments on health where they promised that "We are stopping the top-down reconfigurations of NHS services, imposed from Whitehall rather than led by the local NHS, family doctors and local communities."
If you can find a version of the LibDem manifesto, that isn't a .pdf, then you will see that they at least had the courage to say that they would replace PCTs with Local Health Boards.
Ah, I hear you say, neither of those manifestos stand as we now have a coalition. You are, of course, quite correct when you say that. So let's have a look at the Coalition Agreement where page 24 deals with the approach to health. Hang on though, doesn't the second bullet point repeat Conservative policy of " We will stop the top-down reorganisations of the NHS that have got in the way of patient care."? That is clearly contradicted later one when it says that they will cut the number of quangos - doesn't that mean a little reorganisation from the top. Oh, and as far as PCTs are concerned well some reassurance for them in this document because they will still exist but have elected officials on the Board. Also, PCTs will act as "champion for patients". So, that's the PCT future safe then.
Except the White Paper and Health and Social Care Bill both have the abolition of PCT as a major part - some might say the foundation - of the reorganisation. No clinical group has asked for this restructuring, so it's not clinically driven then. It's coming from the top. From Whitehall.
Anyway, if you want a really good insight into what the policy means for the then you can have a look at this very well informed blog - in summary it's privatisation of all levels of the NHS except the Department of Health.
Talking of the Department of Health, how is the two month consultation period of "listening" going. Well, this website was set up to get some public views and there's even a wonderful leaflet which is designed to inform the discussion. If you scroll down you will see what the "informed" public thought about the NHS Reform policy being pushed by Lansley. No surprise therefore when only one week after publication the comments section has been closed.
Of course, the leaflet itself is hardly evidence based, as Ben Goldacre covers in his Guardian column.
So anyway, there's a little background and a rant from a disgrunted PCT employee facing the prospect of losing his job or working for a private sector company in 2013. In the meantime I am supposed to tell the GPs how to do my job (because they can apparently do it better than I), so that they can deliver on the challenges set down by an ageing, more demanding, population.
So the question I have is... do you really care about what is happening with these reforms, do you think it will make the the NHS better or are you a little "meh" because you think that it's not worth getting angry about...? Finally, do you think that there is evidence that such wide reforms are needed and that they proposed change will be better?
I'm off for a lie down now before I have a stroke. Well, I don't want to risk it, you know how bad the health services are...
So I have a few links for you and a few comments but ultimately I have a question at the end....
So let's start with David Cameron slamming "pointless reorganisation" in the NHS
We can then look at the Conservative Manifesto 2010 and their comments on health where they promised that "We are stopping the top-down reconfigurations of NHS services, imposed from Whitehall rather than led by the local NHS, family doctors and local communities."
If you can find a version of the LibDem manifesto, that isn't a .pdf, then you will see that they at least had the courage to say that they would replace PCTs with Local Health Boards.
Ah, I hear you say, neither of those manifestos stand as we now have a coalition. You are, of course, quite correct when you say that. So let's have a look at the Coalition Agreement where page 24 deals with the approach to health. Hang on though, doesn't the second bullet point repeat Conservative policy of " We will stop the top-down reorganisations of the NHS that have got in the way of patient care."? That is clearly contradicted later one when it says that they will cut the number of quangos - doesn't that mean a little reorganisation from the top. Oh, and as far as PCTs are concerned well some reassurance for them in this document because they will still exist but have elected officials on the Board. Also, PCTs will act as "champion for patients". So, that's the PCT future safe then.
Except the White Paper and Health and Social Care Bill both have the abolition of PCT as a major part - some might say the foundation - of the reorganisation. No clinical group has asked for this restructuring, so it's not clinically driven then. It's coming from the top. From Whitehall.
Anyway, if you want a really good insight into what the policy means for the then you can have a look at this very well informed blog - in summary it's privatisation of all levels of the NHS except the Department of Health.
Talking of the Department of Health, how is the two month consultation period of "listening" going. Well, this website was set up to get some public views and there's even a wonderful leaflet which is designed to inform the discussion. If you scroll down you will see what the "informed" public thought about the NHS Reform policy being pushed by Lansley. No surprise therefore when only one week after publication the comments section has been closed.
Of course, the leaflet itself is hardly evidence based, as Ben Goldacre covers in his Guardian column.
So anyway, there's a little background and a rant from a disgrunted PCT employee facing the prospect of losing his job or working for a private sector company in 2013. In the meantime I am supposed to tell the GPs how to do my job (because they can apparently do it better than I), so that they can deliver on the challenges set down by an ageing, more demanding, population.
So the question I have is... do you really care about what is happening with these reforms, do you think it will make the the NHS better or are you a little "meh" because you think that it's not worth getting angry about...? Finally, do you think that there is evidence that such wide reforms are needed and that they proposed change will be better?
I'm off for a lie down now before I have a stroke. Well, I don't want to risk it, you know how bad the health services are...
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Comments
Will privatising the NHS Make things better? Will it fuck. private companies will cherry-pick the expensive and the easy work, leaving state-owned hospitals to deal with everything else. And then, of course, they will be slaughtered for not "achieving" as well as the private hospitals.
This government are using the fake recession as a reason to bulldoze through serious ideological changes that will leave them rich and us poor. As was said not so long ago by a US billionaire: there is a class war, being waged by the rich, and the rich are winning.
The problem is: who do you vote for to get rid of it? Labour set the ball rolling with the PFI scandal, so they're not exactly likely to stop the gravy train in it's tracks. The LibDems claim to be against it but then roll over the second it is raised. That leaves us with the Tories- at least they're honest about being filthy lying cunts who steal from the poor to give to the rich.