Unsavoury characters

The Daily Telegraph reported on a very unpleasant, misinformed and threatening letter sent by a certain shady agent of the state:

"The letter, sent by DoH Commissioning Director-General Mark Britnell, informs primary care trusts to come up with plans to persuade doctors to "respond to the needs and expectations of their patients, for instance by opening practices for longer periods". "

Dr Rant explains things succinctly here, there does appear to be no logic in Mark Britnell's stance; after all it was the government that has made several bad decisions in reforming and managing out of hours care in this country. It is at best misguided that Mark Britnell is writing such an aggressive letter ordering things to be done as he wants.

At worst it could be argued that Mark Britnell is a despicable scum bag who is keen to further his own medico-political career by helping the government privatise primary care. Unsurprisingly the apolitical Britnell was a Labour activist as a student. It seems Mark Britnell could also be accused of telling porkies on occasion:

"He had originally planned to become a lawyer but turned to the NHS after realising that the law was "more paper than people based."

Working in the public services also chimed with his aspirations: "I was attracted to running a big public sector organisation. It was about producing social value, about making a contribution."

His actions seem to contradict his statements above. It appears that Mark Britnell has one thing on his mind and it isn't 'the social value' of his work. He seems to be a rather menacing agent of the state, a man who values party loyalty above the public good and a man who will try to force through government reform at any cost.

It may come as breaking new to Mark Britnell but the government's very own survey revealed that the vast majority of patients were very content with their GP's service and opening hours. His bullying tactics are frankly beneath contempt, however they are something we have come to expect from a rather nasty bunch of authoritarians at the Department of Health. Shut it Britnell.