News OnTheWight always welcomes a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers – unsurprisingly they don’t always reflect the views of this publication. If you have something you’d like to share, get in touch and of course, your considered comments are welcome below.
This from Hans Bromwich, Ventnor. Ed
A few weeks ago we were treated to the delightful spectacle of the Oxford and Cambridge sewage race, where the tradition of throwing the winning teams cox into the river Thames was banned for fear they might become infected by E. coli.
A charming legacy, care of weak water company regulation and MPs, like our very own Bob Seely, voting in Parliament to allow privatised water utility companies to continue discharging untreated human excrement into our rivers, lakes and seas, because, let’s be clear, what comes first and foremost above public safety is profit. Lack of investment, gigantic loans and mounting indebtedness ensures huge dividends are annually paid to overseas shareholders.
The Wild West of corporate theft
It’s the Wild West of corporate theft, pursued with vigour secure in the knowledge that when the proverbial hits the fan there will always be the British taxpayer to clean up the mess with higher bills to ensure the gravy train doesn’t completely dry up.
What about the fines I hear you ask? Well they are simply costed in as an operational expense.
Lessons learnt?
But here’s the thing, have we really learnt nothing? Why on earth are we choosing to go down the privatisation route with medical care?
Having deliberately demoralised dedicated NHS staff, engineered a situation where millions of patients are waiting for treatment, desperation understandably kicks in.
Privatisation of the NHS
Enter the private sector, here to help. If you can pay, then you can be treated immediately, 3k for a cataract surgery 12k for a knee replacement.
Indeed the NHS will pay for patients to receive some treatments in the private sector, but all this does is divert taxpayer money into the pockets of private clinical providers, depriving the NHS of money and further weakening its services.
Cherry picking the most lucrative areas to poach
Private health providers now sit on NHS Trust Boards, no doubt cherry picking the most lucrative areas to poach.
These private medical companies are all about making money, their modus operandi is to charge as much as possible whilst delivering as little as possible.
Behind the scenes
As the recent BBC Panorama programme revealed, doctors behind the scenes are run ragged, whereas within our NHS you might have to wait, and services are undoubtedly under considerable strain given the governments lack of investment in new staff, but once you are through the door the emphasis is on providing the very best patient care possible.
The profit motive simply doesn’t come into the mindset of those on the frontline.
Intent on going down the same route
What’s deeply depressing is that our official opposition, the Labour Party, or should I say, the new Tory Party, appears to be intent on going down the same route as the Conservatives, embracing, and thereby emboldening the private health sector at the expense of our NHS.
What about other political parties I hear you ask?
Well, Reform would be even more ruthless than the Tories when it comes to privatisation. Sir Ed Davey and the hapless Lib Dem’s can’t even get their mechanical slogans to work properly, so I wouldn’t bet a first class stamp on them getting anywhere. The Greens would probable opt for homeopathy. Who would have ever thought that Lord Buckethead might be the NHS’s saviour?
Are we all being fed a load of porkies?
You would think our government would be throwing everything it had into our NHS, after all, speedy high quality healthcare is closely linked to having a productive labour force, essential for a vibrant economy, but perhaps, with a post Brexit economy that’s barely bumping along the bottom, are we all being fed a load of porkies, are all those high paid jobs simply a figment of our governments imagination?
Who would have ever thought you’d probably be served your Starbucks coffee by someone with a PhD?
Reform of the NHS desperately needed
Health care shouldn’t be seen as a cash-cow for companies and well placed individuals to exploit monetarily, it’s way too important for that.
NHS reform is desperately needed, starting with those at the top, who all too often act like a fifth column doing the government and politicians bidding in an attempt to impress their paymasters, they need to be let go; with our doctors, nurses and support staff given the backing to get on and do their job without being placed under ridiculous levels of stress.
