What do you think about the Government’s plans to overhaul the NHS? Having read this article
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/10557996.stm
the thing that really annoys me is this “Tory” Governnment’s plans to going back to making things private, which is fine for their rich supporters. They want to move the hospitals out of the NHS so that they can take on more private work.
“Hospitals are to be moved out of the NHS to create a “vibrant” industry of social enterprises under the proposals.”
How can this be done? What exactly does it mean? Will the staff still work for the NHS? I have not heard any comments on this part of their proposal, only about the doctors running the NHS.
I had to wait nearly 3 months for radiotherapy because of the waiting list. How exactly are they going to fit in private work at these hospitals as well?
I am incensed! The Conservatives have been waiting years for a chance to undo the welfare system/NHS and now they can do it, on the pretext that it is good for the economy. My foot, it is!!!
How can the LibDem MPs hold up their heads? This is not their policy. To add insult to injury, the Government e-petition website has been put on hold, so it makes it difficult for the ordinary person to protest about their plans. All open petitions have been closed. They say they will start something new but I wouldn’t hold your breath. My only thought is to contact every LibDem MP, to shame them into not voting in favour of these changes.
What are your thoughts?
Ann
Totally agree and it’s infuriating that we don’t have a voice.
love, Dianne x x
I was shocked when I heard this last night although I’m not sure what it will mean (got to do some reading). Don’t think I’m happy with GP’s having such a massive budjet.
Sue
Hi
You can read Breast Cancer Care’s initial response to the white paper here: breastcancercare.org.uk/media-centre/all-our-latest-news/newsblog/newsblog-13-07-2010
There are also some links there to articles about the proposals, some of which summarise the white paper.
Hope you find it useful
Leah
Hello
I’m certainly with you on this one - here we go again with the privatisation agenda, now rebadged as ‘outsourcing’. Commissioning is a complex area of work that includes not only getting value for money, but ensuring that services bought are the most appropriate ones and fit for purpose. there are also issues around safeguarding the wellbeing and rights of vulnerable people.
How GPs are going to have time to do this I cannot imagine.I deal with private (or outsourced) provision of care and spend an enormous amount of time and energy on the safeguarding issues - to put it bluntly, private providers have a profit motive and are responsible to shareholders, the reinvestment isn’t the same as NHS and in my experience, the management infrastructure often isn’t sound.
On a political level, these ‘outsourced’ services will use staff trained at public expense, so we are paying twice to support profits for private companies. In a few years smaller organisations will be vulnerable to being picked off by the big multinationals and instead of the NHS, we’ll have a small number of multinational companies controlling huge swathes of service areas and profits not even staying in the country to be taxed by the UK.
talk about short term gain!
this is the start - far from ringfencing or protecting the NHS, its become the first scapegoat for the banking crisis - why make them pay when you can put thousands of NHS staff out of work?
This is what I was worried about before the election, but its happening sooner than I thought it would.
You are so right, daisyleaf. What can we do about it? I cannot believe (or can I?) that people will be so apathetic as to stand by and let this happen. This is our NHS that we are talking about, the pride of the nation - even if it does have its faults. Like I said before, my suggestion is to contact every LibDem MP and shame them into voting against it - bringing down the coalition if need be. I suspect the Government is putting this out now to feel the way, but this is one huge step too far!
Ann x
It is appalling. I agree that having a load of bureaucrats in the PCT’s deciding where money should be allocated was not working, but to give GP’s the role of God is dreadful. If the GP is motivated, in touch with current treatments, and genuinely has the patient’s best interest at heart, then it may work. However, I am sure we all have tales to tell about lazy, disinterested, greedy GP’s who will hold on to their budget for dear life and therefore referrals to specialists etc will not be forthcoming.
My other major concern is that patients are going to be involved far more in their care. Not a bad thing at first glance, but it will mean the GP’s having to explain hospital league tables, graphs, percentages, etc and the patients making an informed choice about where to go. This is brilliant for those of us who want to make a choice and can do so easily, but there are many out there who really wouldnt understand how to interpret a league table correctly and the GP will have to spend hours trying to explain when they could be doing other things. David Cameron lives in LaLa Land where because he has access to information and is educated, presumes incorrectly that everyone else has too. I am all for providing information to patients who want it, but not to force it upon them.
AS for the move towards private, we all knew that was coming. The cap on how many private patients a hospital can treat has now been lifted so expect your local hospital to have two beds available for NHS patients in a few months! Those who voted Conversative can now reap what they have sown and hope they have the funds to pay for their treatment.
Leah - Thanks for the link. Within that post, the link to the Mirror Q&A doesn’t work, so I Googled it. Here it is:-
mirror.co.uk/news/health-news/2010/07/13/nhs-shake-up-q-a-the-planned-changes-explained-115875-22409163/
Ann
This is the sort of thing I was scared of ahead of the election. How will hospitals fit private and NHS in? Simple who pays most comes first.
We might get some improvements - if the companies see oney. services may run longer - evenings, weekends etc. Somehow I doubt those slots will be available on the NHS!
I can’t see many GPs being happy about being financial controllers on top of everything else they have to do.
As has been said, this is ideology disguised as sorting the budget out.
LargerBloke - I totally agree with your last sentence. The Tories have been waiting years to do this.
Cathy - My sentiments exactly.
I still say we should not sit on our behinds and just take this, though. I, for one, am going to contact various MPs, all the LibDems for a start. I feel SO strongly about this. I hope others will take a stand, too. Otherwise, this is the beginning of the end of the NHS.
Ann
For people that have concerns about this the first person they should contact is their own MP. If there is one thing MPs care about it is getting re-elected. Even tories will worry about supporting this if it looks like it will cost them their seat at the next election.
Paul.
Absolutely agree with the comments.
Wasn’t happy about the election result anyway, but had at least hoped that a coalition involving Lib Dems would temper the tories attempts to dimantle the NHS and state education, and possibly provide a platform for some debate about change that could be positive.
It seems that there is no tempering, and that the state of the economy has provided the perfect foil for erosion of services that will end up costing more in human and financial terms. As it stands I also wonder how Lib Dems can hold their heads up, as you say Ann. I work in education and am horrified by the slashing of budgets and cuts that are being introduced each week. I really fear for the NHS and what the changes will mean.
LargerBloke - I shall contact our MP but, unfortunately, he is a Conservative. I still feel the best way is to contact the LibDems individually.
Ann
Ann - thanks for pointing out the broken link. I’ll get it fixed.
Leah
I worry for the NHS…and will be contacting my MPs
No! I also feel angry and confused. Would appreciate any advice from anyone about their feelings.
A lot of people that I have spoken to about this think it is ridiculous. GPs have no experience of handling budgets of this size and waiting lists will also become longer and longer.
I watched Prime Minister’s questions yesterday - Harriet Harman was asking David Cameron if he will be abolishing the rule that people should only have to wait 2 weeks from GP to NHS cancer specialist. He would not answer her question and did the usual politician thing and evaded answering the question by turning it back of her. Harriet, good on her, kept at him but still he gave no answer.
I was referred 3 days ago to my local hospital. 2 weeks seems like forever to wait when you want to know what is going on now - however, 2 weeks to get a hospital appointment is brilliant - I’ve waited months in the past for different things. I’m assuming that because he didn’t answer the question that he is going to change this rule. It probably won’t affect me but I am fuming for the people that it will affect. Is there anything we, the general public, can do? I do not trust this government and feel that we don’t have a voice anymore.
The only thing I can think of is to contact our own MPs and ALL the LibDem MPs individually to try to shame them into stopping this being passed in the House of Commons. If enough people contacted them, they may think twice.
Ann
I am strongly opposed to the governments plans for giving greater powers to the gps over patient treatment and care. As a cancer patient I feel even more vulnerable. It is all about ideaology and how systems and institutions should operate in society. I can’t help but remember my days at university when we discussed Darwins theory of the survival of the fitest. Conservative ideology fits nicely into this theory. It is very scary to think that if there is no immanent cure for cancers like breast cancer, then this may greatly influence the gp’s decisionin terms of how he/she prioritises his/her budget and what he/she should spend it on. David Cameron did use the term ‘clinical outcome’ when he was pressed about the two week referral to a specialist. If by this he means death rate from cancers such as breast cancer, then I am really scared, as unfortunately the death rate from this disease has not altered significantly in recent years. According to Breakthrough Cancer Research the mortality rate still stands at 12,000 per year. No real evidence of a breakthrough here.
yellow - Funnily enough, I said exactly the same thing to my husband about survival of the fittest.
The part that really worries me is what sounds like privatising the hospitals.
Ann x