NHS getting better! more marvels of the internal market

I just had to come out and say what a revolution to patient care the old 'internal market' is. There's more evidence of the successes of payment by results here in the paper:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=BJYNJTWMJ5EBDQFIQMGSFFWAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2007/02/25/nhs25.xml

The logic is truly poetic. Operations are being postponed around the country because there is no enough money to pay for them! One would assume that there is not enough money to pay for the surgeons, nurses, equipment etc, but this is not a problem at all. The PCTs do not have enough money to pay the hospital to do the work, because of the ludicrous 'internal market' system.

Thus we have highly skilled surgeons sitting around twiddling their thumbs, while theatres sit empty and nurses think of ways to pass the time! These staff and facilities are all paid for and able to do the work, but there is not enough 'money' to pay for it!

Am I an idiot to think that the 'internal market' makes about as much sense as an epileptic monkey on a type-writer? Patricia Hewitt think so, but then she is arguably less articulate that the aforementioned monkey.

Why not just fund the hospitals to pay for the work that needs doing? No, that would be far too simple, more efficient and less bureaucratic! That was the old NHS, this is the brave new NHS.

Looks like the brave new NHS' monkey in charge, Patricia Hewitt, may start feeling the heat in the form of some Channel 4 crafted gusts up her skirt:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/25/nrhewitt25.xml

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/columnists/routledge/tm_headline=nanny-is-in-a-state%2method=full%26objectid=18664962%26siteid=89520-name_page.html

Get ready for Channel 4 to stick the knife in, it is about bloody time that the 'internal market' and the government's useless mismanagement were exposed for the scandals they are.

(post scriptum- another great piece in the telegraph explaining how the governments policies are destroying things: here:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?xml=/health/2007/02/26/hnhs26.xml)