Monday 4 January 2010

Lines in the sand drawn by idiots


Apparently the NHS is to be central in the Conservative Party's Manifesto. David Cameron wants to meet 'mothers' needs' and more maternity care reforms are in the pipeline. Childbirth in the 'non-emergency setting' is nothing new and ironically a lot of dangerous rubbish in this policy area has been forced upon unsuspecting mothers by Labour. When it comes to maternity care the biggest problem is a shortage of Obstetric consultants, the public do not need yet more gimmicky rubbish from politicians that pushes woman into giving birth in dangerous locations.
"Health inequalities in 21st century Britain are as wide as they were in Victorian times... We must target resources at the worst-off areas"
This is disingenuous tat from David Cameron. The reality of health inequality is that it cannot be dealt with adequately by a system that runs with an internal market. The commissioning bureaucracy and market structures mean that the most effective central planning that can best deal with health inequality cannot be used. The tried and tested model of using the best evidence as advised by Public Health experts to guide spending has been thrown out in order to allow the NHS to be privatised with the divisive and inefficient internal market. Politicians who back the market but talk of reducing inequality have no shame, they are either liars or just plain stupid. David Cameron and Gordon Brown may be many things, but they are not stupid.

3 comments:

Fuddled Medic said...

The market is amazeing and can do alot of things, but healthcare is not one of them.

By introduing the private sector to the NHS we have undermined it to the core. Private companies are not interested in treating a little of lady who has multiple patholgies, they cannot make a profit from someone who need lifelong treatment for a disease

A simple slogan for David Cameron might be "more doctors, more nurses and less managers." Although a simplification of the problems facing the NHS it would do an awful lot of good

dearieme said...

"the best evidence as advised by Public Health experts..": but surely Public Health is only a tiny part of the NHS's remit?

Garth Marenghi said...

Public Health should be the guide for health spending, this is what it is set up for.

This does not mean that all the money should be spent on Public Health, but a lot of it should be guided by it.

Currently a lot of money is spent by PCTs who have no properly trained professionals guiding them where to spend it, this is lunacy and a massive waste of resources.