The NHS and Social Care Bill is currently being examined by the Health Parlimentary Committee. Information coming out from meetings being held at this stage of the process is fascinating. Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary who dreamed all of this up was yesterday grilled by said committee. The following paragraph is taken from the Guardian online:
“He surprised some MPs when he admitted they were “still thinking through” what would happen should one of the newly empowered GP consortia go bust. Lansley said: “The responsibility lies with the NHS commissioning board. To identify and then intervene – they will have powers to take over responsibility or ask another hospital to take over.B ut he said there was still a debate about what would be the “trigger” for the NHS commissioning board to step in”
And this:
In an overture to those concerned about the reforms, and in a nod to the parliamentary push back from Clegg’s team, Lansley said there would be “opportunities to clarify, if not improve, the bill as it goes through parliament.”
and finally this:
“Lansley insisted that the bill was compatible with EU law and that he was supported by legal advice. But when pressed five times by Labour MP Valerie Vaz to publish the exact legal advice, he appeared to refuse.”
As someone living through this debacle and who will certainly lose the job I have even if I do get myself another. As someone who may be a patient involved in this mess in the future, I wonder if these people know what they are doing to the health service? What is more don’t they actually think it matters if the potential problems are worked through before the Bill becomes law? Obviously they don’t or else you wouldn’t have the feeling it had been invented at a cocktail party, written down on the back of an envelope and then presented as a fait au complit!
Comments on: "Just make it up as you go along" (5)
Yep, you got it in one, they were “Brahms and List” when thinking it up, and he was talking a load of “Cobbler’s Awls”. Mark my words there will be tears before bedtime.
Problem is that the privatisation of the NHS will not work because (a) that is what National provision means and is in tandem with the word Universal – and only a monopoly or government controlled monopoly can run and provide a universal system, hotch potch does not work, (b) the government still holds the purse strings, to go private the health service has to become like supermarkets, and private failed to provide health care in the past, so what makes us think the ethos has changed? The only way the government can save money on the NHS is too walk away from it and leave it to private contractors to scrabble and grab. Once the smoke has died down we will be back to the 1930s with people paying up front to GPs and or hospital persons, saving monthly into health saving schemes or insurances, or going without health care treatment because they can not afford it; for instance my partner had to have cataract removal – a private health cost would be £1,800 – £2,900 per eye: “Averagely, cataract removal in the UK costs between £1300-1600 per eye using standard IOLs – the cost of cataract operations using light adjustable lenses are higher. Cataract costs in the UK are comparable to the cost of cataract removal in other European countries or the United States. If cataracts have developed in both eyes and a dual cataract extraction surgery is needed many clinics offer financing options or a discounted treatment price for cataract removal in both eyes.” http://www.privatehealth.co.uk/hospitaltreatment/whatdoesitcost/cataract-removal/
http://cataracteyesurgery.co.uk/faq/how-much-does-cataract-surgery-cost
Even @ £50 mnth saving it would be 5 years for a £3000 op – and that’s just for that op, heaven help you if you had other things wrong as well. At a 30 year span you would get £18,000 with a generous 5% interest of £900…That is why the USA has Medicare & Medicaid…though some doctors charge a “what can you afford rates”, or “pro-bono” packages.
The trouble with the Camerons and the Langleys they have never ever been without or had to budget from scratch. That does not make them bad just ignorant and sad.
Like I said they end up talking a load of “Cobbler’s Awls”.
Well said as usual. The money is already able to follow the patient; every day surgery takes place in private hospitals and is funded by the NHS. This eases some pressure on NHS hospitals, but essentially the same surgeon will care for you whether you are in the NHS or private. Admittedly if you are in an NHS hospital you are more likely to be operated on by a more junior person.
As for the USA. My son is off to California this summer for a year as part of his degree course. Health insurance for him as a student is going to cost me several hundred pounds and he is pretty low risk generally. I can see why faced with thousands of pounds worth of insurance premium per year that would be one of the first things to go if things got tight. We have the NHS and I believe it is worthy of saving.
Good luck to your son. Great opportunity. Yes the health insurance is a hard task master – especially with a the little small print clauses and prerequisites. That is why the Obama plan is opposed by many people, it does not really truly help people – forced insurance – makes you laugh, might as well take it into government hands and provide universal health-care; the USA is so scared of anything that might be social – ism related. Oh my goodness, what am I saying, me a libertarian, doesn’t mean I have to be dim though. The all or nothing approach always has some middle ground – when it does not, well you have two sets of grumpy people trying to shove their policies at you. Common sense and a reading of British economic social history would do our politicians a world of good.
Thought you might find this of interest Julie, I did:
http://www.progressives.org.uk/articles/article.asp?a=7865
Hope all is well.
Very interesting yes; Alan Milburn is a man whose opinion deserves to be trusted.
I am fine thanks
Julie