The fact is that the NHS for the money spent per head of population and for patient outcomes is the most efficient healthcare system in the world -
healthcare systems Could it be better? Yes. Could it be more efficient? Yes. But what we are seeing currently is a terrible coming together of a number of things that relate entirely to this and the previous coalition government.
First, following a terrible start under the Blair government (the internal market, pfi) that was largely disguised at the time my a big boost to spending, the NHS was very much back on track by the time Brown was PM, and in particular with the welcome introduction of the 5 year plans where there was the ability for proper planning and resource allocation. The 2010 election and the disaster of Andrew Lansley stopped that and at the same time caused huge instability with his misguided and highly damaging structural reforms.
Second, the austerity policies of both the last and current governments have led to huge cuts in social care funding (around 40% in real terms). The result of that is that thousands of hospital beds each week are being taken up by often elderly patients that should be under local care arrangements but who are unable to be moved as a result of the almost collapse of social care in region after region. The talk of ring fenced health spending was designed to disguise this fact, but it can no longer be hidden as the current crisis has exposed.
Third, there has been a drastic fall in health spending as a per head of population and a percentage of GDP figure. The UK now lags behind nearly all developed nations in the amount spent on health and it is this that is the crucial factor in what is now happening to the NHS and the beds/A&E crisis.
I have no doubt that there is a political motivation behind this. Run the NHS down and hope that the calls for privatisation will grow. Playing politics with our lives in other words.
'Competition' is thrown around as the answer to everything. A few years ago the same type of people doing this were saying the same thing for education. They should look at the growing disaster of academies and free schools in terms of financial misspending and pupil outcomes to see where this type of talk leads.
Top post. Hard to argue with any point you make.
We have to fight for our NHS. Pivotal to this is to sort out social care for the elderly
