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Original poster

Is the Coalition telling us to say goodbye to the NHS?

31 replies

jamtodaybrighton · 23/09/2010 11:46

Is anyone else really worried what the Coalition are up to with the NHS White Paper, and whether there is any way of stopping them? They seem to be backing a wholesale privatisation of the NHS. All hospitals will be Foundation Trusts, and they will be able to earn as much money as they like from private patients. Doesnt this mean that we will have the really ugly sight of a two-tier health service? Why are we going backwards in our healthcare system towards inequality, when other countries are trying to make theirs fairer?

And in community services, the Coalition does not seem to mind who provides the services. Their mantra is any willing provider. We are going to end up with hundreds of private healthcare companies doing things like community physio and podiatry. They will all say they are fantastic, but how will we really know? And the Coalition is ideologically wedded to light regulation. No-one will be watching these companies when they start to try to cut costs. They will be in healthcare to make a profit. Profit before patients - is that what Cameron meant by protecting the NHS?

OP posts:
lifeinlimbo · 28/09/2010 18:04

jamtodaybrighton I agree with you - private services are MUCH more wasteful - 'choice' means there are at least 2 providers where you only need one, 'competition' means that one will fail and their investment (and staff) wasted.

Why are conservatives so keen to change something which is the envy of the world?! One thing that Britain does well and they want to break it.

If you compare it to dentistry, where it is now so difficult to even find an NHS dentist unless you pay, then it really is worrying.

chil - "There are much better examples of public healthcare systems even within the rest of Europe - better survival rates for patients etc. - and they successfully incorporate private elements"

Can you give those examples then?

Xenia · 24/09/2010 07:15

But for decades people have been able to buy a private room in an NHS hospital. That type of thing is not really new. It's already two tier in that sense.

Secondly the NHS is the third largest employer on the planet after the Red Army in China and the Indian Civil Service I think. That is huge and big bodies have a lot of waste. The Coalition are committed to retaining our free NHS healthcare but they have a duty to improve the system where they can and they will do so.

huddspur · 24/09/2010 02:25

No I don't think that the coalition are even thinking about abolishing the NHS but they need to look at ways to reduce the costs of universal health care and if private providers of health care are a way of reducing costs then it is their duty to pursue this avenue

tokyonambu · 23/09/2010 12:16

"They will be in healthcare to make a profit. "

That explains why there's so many state-provided European services on the Internet, you see: those rubbish US for-profit companies just can't provide the quality that, no...wait...

That explains why the state-owned airlines provide such cost-effective service, while profit-driven companies like EasyJet and BA and Virgin are so...no...wait...

I'm just off to buy my British Leyland car because they're so much...no...wait...

My friend tells me you can get mobile phones now, but I'm still waiting for the GPO to install my party line.

lucky1979 · 23/09/2010 12:15

jamtodaybrighton - what facts do have to back up these worries?

Chil1234 · 23/09/2010 12:01

Protecting the NHS does not mean conserving the status quo at all costs, surely? State-run monoliths are notorious for waste and inefficiency and the NHS is no exception. Efforts to introduce internal competition have consistently failed because the reality is that there is no alternative. The avalance of edicts issued from Whitehall get binned rather than acted on - so I like the idea of foundation trusts having control of their costs and practices.

There are much better examples of public healthcare systems even within the rest of Europe - better survival rates for patients etc. - and they successfully incorporate private elements. I think the 1940's model is long overdue for a rethink and we should learn from others' experience.