Saturday, October 19, 2013

NHS On The Verge Of Extinction

See today's article by Kailash Chand in today's "Tribune" here  
Then act in conformity with Nye Bevan's message below.

5 comments:

treborc said...

Well after Blair and Miliband and Cameron I think the NHS is very lucky to still be going, I do think Burnham will be moved on and up or side ways sooner or later.

Would Nye Bevan get a job today in labour answer yes of course a local councilor would be his limit he does not have a degree or has not been to university and he would not have crawled or worked as an intern.

No save the NHS would be a great thing of course we all love the NHS but sadly it's at risk again it was at risk under New labour and the Tories and Clegg is all over the place.


It's going to be a hard battle again but will the public be interested enough they were not in my area to save our hospital, they refused to march in any numbers.

We will see.

Harry Barnes said...

Treborc : Labour needs a vision of what the NHS could become. Not just a return to a pre-Coalition situation, but moves towards a comprehensive service which starts to move (even if it has to be graduallly) towards comprehensive public services for health provisions. Moving to the end of all private provisions. Not just an end to private practices in the NHS, but an end to private hospitals, dentists, doctors, chemists, opticans, drug suppliers etc. Health should be a public service under the democratic control of the public.

Keir_H said...

Labour’s Andy Burnham pledged to repeal Health and Social Care Act if elected in 2015. I suspect they will but selectively... It will be a salvage operation to keep what remains in the public sector. Everyday contracts are outsourced. Private companies have become the norm in the NHS.

Harry I agree what follows and how can the original ethos be recovered “healthcare available to all, regardless of wealth”. It will be difficult to push a “no private company” provision rule, when Left language and ideas have become so “unfashionable”. The slightest mention of the word socialism and union has the establishment unfairly running images of 1970’s strikes...

Private companies that are successful should be profit / dividend limited and the balance re-invested in NHS services. Existing Foundation status hospitals become mutual for the benefit of the community it serves. Democratically elected council Health and Wellbeing Boards sanctioned with more operational say in local community NHS services and take the lead in commissioning away from CCGs (Clinical Commissioning Groups).

Sadly we need to operate in the business world to get our Left ideas adopted by the “wealthy classes” and general public. Only this week INEOS at Grangemouth dictated reduced benefits in return for jobs. Unite was portrayed as outdated, ill-advised and redundant in the final outcome.

I suggest what is left of the NHS post successful Labour 2015 election becomes a “Not for Profit” company run for the benefit of the patients and enshrined in the company articles of association the original ethos of the NHS.

Regards Jon Williams

treborc said...

I've been unable to see a dentist I can now after twelve years get emergency treatment, I see no move by Miliband to do anything about this farce, which is affecting great numbers of people.

Sorry I cannot for the life of me believed in MIliband, not yet anyway.

He's got to come a long long way before I'd vote for him and now Ms Reeves will be hammering down on the unmeployed sick disabled not sure I care much these days if the Tories or Labour win I will lose anyway

Harry Barnes said...

Jon; in response to Treborc, whilst I argued for an idealistic vision of the NHS, I also accepted that we might need to move to the pattern I suggested in a gradual way. What the Labour Party needs to do is to give people an idea of what eventually needs to be achieved, whilst also showing what first steps are needed in the circumstances in which we find ourselves - which includes the strengths of the opposing power structure. I appreciate that this needs to be done with some skill. But Labour needs to be able to convince people that it is on course, without therebye handing the game over to those who would further destroy the NHS. It isn't an impossible task, if only the commitment existed within the Labour Party to do this.

Treborc : what I am suggesting to Jon, is that Labour needs on approach that will hopefully bring people on board who feel as you do. Then to act in ways that hold onto such support.