Skip to main content

Private providers not the answer to NHS problems

The doctor's organisation the British Medical Association says today that the government's  top-down reorganisation of the NHS was 'unwanted'. It also says that private provisions is not the answer to the problems of the NHS.  General practice the BMA says is struggling to keep pace with rising demands in the face of cuts in funding.

There is a tendency when the NHS is under strain to refer to an ageing population and the demands on the NHS. But this crisis is of the government's making.  If you cut resources it is going to have an impact on frontline services.  The Tory leadership promised there would be no 'top down' reorganisation of the NHS. They reneged on that and imposed a complex reorganisation which is causing problems. The coalition said that the NHS would be ring-fenced from the cuts. It has not been. Calling cuts efficient savings does not mean they are not cuts.  These cuts amount to  £20 billion over the five years of coalition government. You cannot take that out of the system and expect no consequences. Add on top of that the cost and problems or a major reorganisation, under funding of GP practices, and you have the recipe for the current crisis in A&E.  As the BMA rightly say problems at the hospital front for of the NHS are linked to shortages at the back door and in social care services that block beds and increase waiting lists.

What is unforgivable is that the government have been repeatedly warned over the last five years of the consequences of their policies and cuts.

Responding to the publication of weekly figures which show pressure on England's A&E departments is getting worse, Dr Mark Porter, BMA council chair, said:

 “Patients should be treated on the basis of need, rather than arbitrary targets, but these figures show an NHS under extraordinary pressure, trying to cope despite inadequate resources.

“What’s happening in Hinchingbrooke today shows that the responsibility of running a critical public service can never be handed over, and so the insistence on private providers as a potential solution to problems facing Hinchingbrooke was always misguided. It also shows that even private providers are not immune to the extreme financial pressures on NHS services, because of government underfunding.

“It’s important to remember that, while there may not be weekly performance figures for other parts of the system, what’s happening in our A&Es is reflective of, and linked to, wider pressures across the NHS.  You can’t address problems in A&E, without looking at the system as a whole.

“Problems at the hospital front door are often linked to delays at the back door. A shortage of social care beds creates ‘exit block’ in hospitals, meaning patients can’t be discharged because there is simply nowhere for them to go. This, coupled with a shortage of hospitals beds, leads to patients waiting for hours on trolleys or admitted to an inappropriate ward for their needs, affecting the quality of care they receive. This is just one example of pressure in one part of the system spilling over into other parts.

“Outside of hospitals, general practice is struggling to keep up with rising demand, carrying out 40m more consultations a year than in 2008. Investment in general practice is declining while demand is on the rise and more care is moved into the community - this simply isn’t sustainable.

“In the last week there have been lots of promises made and blame thrown around. What we need now is action. To address pressure on A&Es politicians need to look at the NHS as a whole. Investment needs to keep up with demand, every part of system - from our GP surgeries, to hospitals, to community care - needs to be supported and working well, and we must also address the acute shortage of A&E staff and GPs.

“We also need to reverse the harmful effects of Government's top down reorganisation without another NHS-wide restructure. These unwanted changes have made the delivery of joined-up care more difficult by valuing competition over integration of services, leading to care being fragmented at a time when the NHS needs to be delivering more joined up care, not less.”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Prioritising people in nursing care.

There has been in recent years concern that care in the NHS has not been sufficiently 'patient centred', or responsive to the needs of the patient on a case basis. It has been felt in care that it as been the patient who has had to adapt to the regime of care, rather than the other way around. Putting patients at the centre of care means being responsive to their needs and supporting them through the process of health care delivery.  Patients should not become identikit sausages in a production line. The nurses body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council has responded to this challenge with a revised code of practice reflection get changes in health and social care since the previous code was published in 2008. The Code describes the professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses and midwives. Four themes describe what nurses and midwives are expected to do: prioritise people practise effectively preserve safety, and promote professionalism and trust. The

The internet trails of Ants

Ants share, and they are built to do just that.  They walk and talk to cooperate in all they do.  Ants have two stomachs, with the second one set aside for storing food to be shared with other ants.  Ants get pretty intimate when meeting each other.  The ants kiss, but this kiss isn't any ordinary kind of kiss. Instead, they regurgitate food and exchange it with one another.  By sharing saliva and food,  ants communicate.  Each ant colony has a unique smell, so members recognize each other and sniff out intruders. In addition, all ants can produce pheromones, which are scent chemicals used for communication and to make trails. Ants are problem solvers.  We may recall the problems puzzles we were given as children. We look to see if the pieces will fit.  Jiz saw puzzles are much the same but with many contextual factors. First, the picture tells a story. Then, once we know what the image might be, it becomes easier to see which pieces to look for.  Ants lay down trails. Just as we f

The Thin End account of COVID Lockdown