In summary, the NHS (National Health Service) was set up in 1948 to be a state funded comprehensive health service, paid for out of general taxation, and available to all citizens of the country, regardless of income and circumstance. It has survived many changes, but has stayed largely intact. This may change in the next few months, if the current Right-wing coalition Government gets its way.
The argument for this Bill is based on a number of lies.
Lie 1. There will be "no top-down change in the NHS". This was Mr Cameron making fake promises before the elction. This change is so big and so top-dowm that, according to the CEO of the service, "It can be seen from the moon".
Lie 2. Change is essential. No organisation like the NHS avoids change. But not enforced, ideologically driven change. Chang should be gradual and consensual.
Lie 3. There is widespread support for these changes from those working in the NHS. This is so laughable to be contemptuous.
Lie 4. There is too much money spent on bureaucracy. The NHS is the most efficient service in Western Society, spending 5% on administration.
Lie 5. Our outcomes are inferior to other health systems. There are some outcomes that are better, and some that are worse. Everyone can pick areas of variation.
Lie 6. The private sector delivers more efficient care. The private sector delivers queue-jumping, shag pile and pot plants. It selects low-risk patients, and abandons the others.
There are other ongoing lies peddled by those with a vested interest in seeing the NHS broken up. I can be more neutral as I will earn a professional income whether I work in the Private sector or the Public sector.
The NHS is at risk, and we must act to protect it from the privatisers and the asset-strippers. If you want to see what this process results in, look at the railways.
15 comments:
Re “paid for out of general taxation” and for many of the working population they have to pay again for private medicine because access to the NHS is non-existent.
Re “and available to all citizens of the country” no and yes, it’s not available if your work leads to you moving address frequently for instance the NHS is only available to those with a stable address, and over 30% of its spend goes on non-citizens not just folk with indefinite leave to remain here (permanent residence) or British citizenship also anyone on a work visa, student visa, their families, and a long long list of other folk are entitled many without having paid anything into the system, so much so that many 3rd world nationals travel here specifically to get free treatment squeezing British taxpayers away from treatment that they have after all paid for.
Re “regardless of income and circumstance.” On the contrary the hospitals serving the areas where wealthy folk live tend to be a lot better than those serving the areas where poor folk live, not for nothing did the Duke of Edinburgh get taken past about 5 accident and emergency units to one that was chosen specifically for him, an option which is not available to ordinary citizens
Re “It has survived many changes, but has stayed largely intact.” The NHS is a failure, it fails in the basics far too often, wastes far too much, and suffers from being designed and run for the benefit of its staff rather than the patients, far too many people don’t get basic treatment which is routine in the rest of the developed world
Not many British politicians are prepared to speak the truth on these matters, Daniel Hannan MEP being an honourable exception (look up what he says on the NHS on youtube) because the NHS is a pseudo national religion in the UK mainly due to lots of left wing propaganda telling Brits how it is the “best in the world” which is dying as a concept as more people travel and can see the excellence in the rest of the world which they are denied
and even more ridiculous than many London hospitals being full of Indian nationals forcing British taxpayers to wait and wait (often until its too late and they die first) for treatment is that British citizens who have paid significant tax into the system but have been out of the country for a few years are not technically entitled to treatment on the nhs - so mixed up is its criteria for who is entitled. In a crazy politically correct version of equality the eligibility criteria discrimination often against those who have paid the most into the system.
"and even more ridiculous than many London hospitals being full of Indian nationals forcing British taxpayers to wait and wait (often until its too late and they die first)" - interesting thesis since in 2009/10 there were: 16,806,200 hospital stays, a 38% rise on 1999/2000 (12,167,570).
http://www.ic.nhs.uk/news-and-events/news/elderly-people-account-for-bigger-proportion-of-nhs-hospital-activity-every-year-report-shows
What percentage are non-EU overseas nationals, and remember figures plucked out of your arse don't count?
"Lie 3. There is widespread support for these changes from those working in the NHS. This is so laughable to be contemptuous."
This is the problem JD, NHS staff are so afraid of change, they are always resistant to any but the status que! Many a time without even understanding what this change is about let alone if it makes sense or even better for them or not - and it is always complain, but 'never' let's find alternative solutions to the problems the NHS faces!
Personally, I do not like this 'let's gang to oppose' alcatraz culture, and call out 'infidel' to anyone who dares to go against the gang - and leaving patients out of this for the sake of argument, I hope to see this gang culture soon and feel that part of what the new reform aims to do, and, if anything, I feel this is a good thing on it's own, because it is such rigid culture that stops such important organisations from moving forward - not forgetting the cost of all this stagnation in money, or to patients and staff either! OPEN HER UP, FREE HER - so that she can move FORWARD!
As for whether you need legislation to do that or you don't, the matter is in the hand of 'the best' experts there is.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jan/28/andrew-lansley-nhs-health-reform-climbdown
do you want to count the percentage that are british citizens simply because they were here a few years on a work visa (or the family member of someone who was) and they gained british citizenship on that basis, while of course brits find it much harder to get work visas to india, never get indian citizenship no matter how long they stay there, and certainly will never get free healthcare or schooling for their children? if you start including these numbers the figures will be astounding, something even the politically correct pro open doors immigrtion elite would have to confess
Meant to say " I hope to see this gang culture broken soon"
"This is the problem JD, NHS staff are so afraid of change, they are always resistant to any but the status que" - bollocks!!
The NHS has been a state of near constant reorganisation - even Cameron recognised this promising no more top down reorganisations before initiating a further £3 billion on a, err, top down reorganisation of the NHS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH2EmVGowCk
And this from the man who said that instead of change we usually end up with chaos - what a nob?
The constant reorganisation is because of this constant resistance, many a time without even understanding fully what's on offer, and it's always everybody else's fault but never ours! The reason why no reorganisation is ever complete because of that ... and the reason why this reorganise only to reorganise again culture will continue forever, unless Alcatraz is tackled proper!
"The constant reorganisation is because of this constant resistance" - I see, so the coalition's £3 billion reorganisation was due to 'resistance' was it - and there was me thinking it was an ideologically driven change for the benefit of the large health corporations who have been very busy indeed circling the £80 billion NHS budget?
No, it's not being reorganised for the benefit of the circling private corporations, although if there is 'a bit' more room for those to pick the service out of it's stagnant self, I can't see why not let them? - but, mainly, it's being reorganised because the previous reorganisation was so resisted, it was left incomplete - At a time when demand, and expectations, abuse etc, is at record high, expenditure spiralling out of control, and staff not taking note to reduce the colossal waste that exists because of this closed culture. Time everybody is engaged in a proper 50/50 self/selfless dialogue, as this will make everybody's life easier, even the patients too. Happy organisation is happy you, and me - currently, the NHS is pushing along, acknowledged - but it is not a happy organisation!
and Ma [government] sees that, the reason why Ma is always watching and interfering ... cos Mas don't like unhappy children and all the headache, and will always come right in to make them happy, if only for a peaceful life ... always!
So Lansley's Bill is because of colossal waste (oh, and staff resistance) - while our friend upstream is frothing at the mouth about sneaky 'Indians' - honestly, you couldn't make it up!
Wow. I'm open-mouthed in amazement and how some people will swallow government propaganda with such relish. Pathetically naive.
I would have thought having demolished JD's rant about "and available to all citizens of the country" and so on he would have had the decency to answer and acknowledge that his dreamland description is not actually the nhs which exists in the real world
I look back at the railways and think that when those were being privatised, people didn't make much of a fuss or complain about that either... until it was too late and the damage had already been done. If my memory serves me correctly (as I was a little girl back then), there was a fair bit of media propaganda suggesting that privatisation would bring about improved services and less overcrowding on trains. Instead it brought about higher fares and the overcrowding continued.
I think people tend to be either apathetic or dumbed down so they fall for the propaganda and only realise what's really going on when it's too late to go back. I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing happens to the NHS and everyone gets a very nasty shock when the reality hits them.
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