That illustrious minister Ben Bradshaw, a man with a penchant for rubbing people up the wrong way, has decided to take on the general practitioners with a combination of innuendo and bribery. He has attacked them for operating "gentlemen's agreements" whereby they promise not to accept other doctors' patients. Where these are he cannot say. He insinuates that there is a doctor with only two patients in his/her practice, "surviving" on the existing arrangements. He said government research had found this one practice in Southern England, but he has refused to say exactly where that is. Neither will he say how widespread the issues are.So he smears the doctors by saying they are being deliberately obstructive and working against "real patient choice". Personally, I swapped doctors within Solihull due to location reasons (a new practice was set-up nearer to me) and I had no trouble. It's not the doctors who are the problem, it's Mr.Bradshaw and his inability to stop meddling. In that, he is very New Labour!
I am very interested in a group called Doctors for Reform. The way the likes of Bradshaw will have it is that no criticism of the NHS can possibly be heard. Everything is saintly sound and he is one of the guardian angels. Tory types like me can go hang. Doctors for Reform want proper reform. They say "We all work in the NHS. We are committed to its values. But we believe the time has come to consider a new way to deliver healthcare in Britain." I echo that, and I hope many more will do the same.
The time has come where it is not possible to keep this slush fund of Nye Bevan's going. Currently 8% of our nation's wealth is spent on the NHS. In 2020 it will have to be 20% if we are to keep up with the high cost of procedures, the increasing number of elderly, and so on. Whatever Bradshaw and his ilk in this New Labour outfit think, 20% is unrealistic. Instead of antagonising the medical profession, he had better think again. Reform his brain before he tries any more reforms on the NHS.
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