First of all, the reason for this post. I recently attended a meeting, at which it was mentioned that there is a consultation process on changing the maternity services in Colchester, Clacton and Harwich. The people there said that there was not much of a response to this so far. Which was not surprising.
Despite this being in the local news, it is quite hard to find the information on this. You are directed to the
PCT website, when really,
you need a link to the part of the site where the consultation is taking place.
So, just in case you are wondering where to download the consultation form,
click here.
Now I know that despite claiming to be left wing, that I am in favour of the health reforms, but
I saw this on the internet and it did make me laugh! The
reforms have been in the
news and
there has been a lot said against the reforms. But, in my previous job, I was involved with working with the PCT in my previous geographical area, and they did not help change take place. I now am working in a different area where the PCT has been told what to do by local GP's and partly due to this, patients in this area get a much better service than they do where I used to work.
So, to answer the questions on
this link
The reforms will cost the NHS two billion pounds - that may well be possible, but in the long term, the reforms will save the NHS money. And yes, this will involve the use of private companies. But, while people look at the USA as a reason not to use private companies, people forget that private companies are used in Canada which has a healthcare system similar to the NHS as well as in other Western European nations, these nations having better healthcare outcomes than the UK (and the USA).
The bill will create more bureaucracy - I do see the arguments about this, but those who make them fail to understand just how much come PCT's have resisted changes that GP's have suggested that can make the NHS so much better.
Waiting times will grow – unless you go private -
that has happened already and that is nothing to do with the reforms. That is thanks to the government getting rid of targets on waiting times. But,
in Wales where there are no targets, the waiting times are even longer. There the NHS has much less private involvement.
Care will depend on a postcode lottery - true. But, this is alread the case. As I have noted before, Colchester has shorter waiting times for some services (if you see the private sector on the NHS which is allowed if you are not too fat or not too ill) which demonstrates that there is a postcode lottery. This will get worse under the reforms, but this will be mostly because of improvement in the NHS, not it getting worse. Some areas, North East Essex being one area have services available to GP's on the NHS that are not available in Ipswich, just a few miles to the north. And of course, remember that if you are in Wales, you have to wait longer to be seen in hospital outpatients than you do in general if you live in England.
Private companies, not GPs, will be in control - No. But, as noted in the example above, private companies will cherry pick and I doubt that the government will really act on this. In Colchester, NHS patients can be seen at the local private hospital. But, you can onl have operations on there if your case is not too complicated. Which means that if you are too fat, you are not able to have operations there. But, while this is unfair to those who are overweight, the fact that NHS patients can be seen at the private hospital for some conditions means that the wait at the NHS hospital for those problems is less.
I do understand the concerns that many people have with these reforms. But I do see that so long as the Conservatives do not starve the NHS of money like the did in the past, that the NHS can improve vastly.
