SIR – David Cameron claims to have widespread GP enthusiasm for his NHS Bill because GPs have joined commissioning consortia (“Coalition’s GP health reforms have the support of doctors responsible for seven million patients”, Letters, May 11).
However, there are many GPs who are opposed to the Bill but have felt compelled to join consortia to fill the gap left by the meltdown of Primary Care Trusts.
We are angry that this is being used by the Government to suggest that we support the reforms. On the contrary, we believe the Bill is so ill-conceived it should be thrown out. The reforms are revolutionary, not evolutionary. Focusing only on GP commissioning ignores the most radical aspect of the Bill: the increased role of competition and the market.
Large for-profit companies are eager to gain entry into the market. They will cherry pick profitable services, destabilising NHS providers in the process, leading some to close. As Mr Cameron’s health adviser Mark Britnell said recently, there are “big opportunities” for the private sector, and the NHS will be shown “no mercy”.
Competition will undermine the collaboration between services that has been the hallmark of the great improvements that have been made in cancer care, stroke and heart disease treatment, as well as local care pathway improvements between GPs and hospitals. Such collaborative relationships will be deemed “anti-competitive”, as European competition law will be enforced by Monitor, the regulator.
We can achieve improved cost-effective and caring services without a Bill. GP commissioning has been effective in many places with no need for legislation. At a time of unprecedented austerity, it is dangerous to introduce legislation that will waste money, destabilise services and divert health workers from their main task of providing better services.
Click here to read the signatories, Johnathon Tomlinson, Julian Tudor Hart and Dr Robert Cumming (Scottish Health Campaign Network) amongst them.
4 comments:
Excellent stuff Julie - hopefully not to late!
Anna :o]
It is, but it wasn't me that wrote it!I did send a letter into the Telegraph but it didn't get printed. Anyway, it's very welcome, esp as a reply to the letter that was in the Telegraph a couple of weeks ago. We have to keep speaking up.
Julie - the story isn't so much the content of the letter (no harm at all in repeating it , but there is little new - and so little news - in it), it is the number of signatories - some of whom are quite big shots - unlike the Masonic wax chandler who was behind the pro Lansley letter.
The fact that the wax chandler's letter made front page news in the Telegraph on the day it was published, while this letter appears not to have generated one column inch of news in the Telegraph (if it has, Dr No/google couldn't find it) tells us even more certainly something we already knew about the Telegraph...
On a more general note, Dr No thinks it is all about tactics, and he worries that too many worthy and well intentioned people are missing the point. Long learned papers are all very well, and perhaps our natural fodder, but MPs, hacks and the public need bullet points (backed up with substance of course, but you need the bullet points to get their attention) - and we don't call them bullet points for nothing!
Hi Julie
I realise it wasn't your letter my friend and that it was a response to the earlier Telegraph letter - better late than never - probably too late.
I too have written to the Telegraph, Guardian and local rag. The local rag published only.
I agree that we have to keep speaking up.
Anna :o]
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