“We can’t go on like this. I’ll cut the deficit, not the NHS.” Famous last words, smeared across billboards up and down the country, of a Prime Minister desperate to ditch accountability for the service which saves more lives per pound than any other.
The Health and Social Care Bill, currently backed by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, is not proposing cuts or making us pay more for health care. Essentially, the Bill creates competition over management of our health service; it proposes the handing over of the management of the NHS to private entities. This could have damaging effects in relation to the access to, and management of, services.
The Bill passed its second reading in the House of Lords last month and proposes to instill in General Practitioners responsibility for an overwhelming 80% of the NHS budget. Putting the money in the hands of the experts may seem like a good idea but GPs have neither the time nor the inclination to get involved in the management and commissioning of services. It is more than likely that they will turn to the private sector and buy in such services, resulting in privatisation of how the NHS is run.
In the drawing up of this Bill, it is the government’s overarching aim to turn the NHS into a ‘social enterprise’; a private not-for-profit business. The plan is that, over time, the private sector will increasingly provide for the social enterprises. Poaching of services such as Intensive Care Units and Accident and Emergency by private companies could become commonplace, and before we know it the NHS will no longer be publicly run.
This will take responsibility away from those who were elected to make decisions on these issues. The Department of Health’s claim that the Bill is in aid of ‘modernisation’ seems more like a ploy to mask the foisting of the NHS to private sector entities. In fact it is the services themselves which need modernisation and it looks like instead of fixing what is actually broken, a costly and time-consuming task, Lansley has decided to deny his duties and fix what is not broken: who owns and runs the NHS.
With petitions popping up left, right and centre, it seems that the Bill has led to nationwide disillusionment with a government who should be guarding our interests. Lansley is keen to palm off responsibilities involved to ‘arms-length bodies’ who may not prioritise the public’s health and wellbeing.
The NHS privatisation Bill is an example of shirked duties and lack of protection for a public who have entrusted the government with responsibility for their healthcare. Rather than inject much-needed funds into the public’s health service, Lansley is hoping to re-allocate responsibility to already over-worked GPs who will be pushed to seek help from external private bodies. Therefore transparency and accountability, in relation to who runs the NHS, are values threatened by these proposals. The final vote will take place in January, at the earliest, and one can only hope that, in the meantime, negotiations will influence certain aspects of the Bill.
Brilliant article. This girl should write for Vision more often.
“resulting in privatisation of how the NHS is run.” “before we know it the NHS will no longer be publicly run”
This just is not true. You’re scaremongering and have been totally sold by a left wing mob.
The day the NHS is no longer accessible to everybody, whenever they want, you can come round to my address (which I will more than happily message you) and slap me in the face with a giant David Cameron blow up doll.
Ridiculous.
It is all lies, I promise
This article successfully highlights the concerns shared by GP’s and members of the public in respect of the current changes proposed by the Coaltion government.
Ben claims the writer has been “sold by a left wing mob”, but it is evident that it is he who has sold by a doctrine, of the pro-Cameron variety no doubt.
The changes proposed “could” indeed lead to private bodies, but I fail to see where the author mentioned that the NHS would fail to become accessible to all? Oh yes, she DIDN’T.