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, Cowes. Ed
I guess many are wondering why our Government is so intransigent when it comes to negotiating with junior doctors and nurses over pay. The answer is relatively simple, and yes, it is to do with money, but interestingly enough, not so much to do with Junior Doctor and Nurses pay, their demands are relatively small beer when seen in the context of the much larger game being played out.
The move to an American health care model
The Conservatives want/need to move rapidly towards an American health care model. Creating dissatisfaction with our NHS amongst patients with longer and longer waiting lists, in addition to stoking up disenchantment amongst NHS staff over pay and stressful understaffing, are all part of the game plan.
Started with Hunt
The gradual erosion of our NHS dates back to when, ‘entrepreneur’, Jeremy Hunt became Minister for Health. In the early days it was all about seeing the opportunity to make a financial killing by embracing the private, ‘for profit’, health sector.
But things change, and today there are additional more pressing issues driving events. Creating a toxic malaise amongst patients and NHS staff is intentional.
Go private
The unspoken message for patients is, if you want timely medical treatment, then pay and go private, whilst for NHS doctors and nurses it’s, if you want better pay and conditions, then move to the private sector.
Gov needs to offload areas of unsustainable expenditure
So what are these additional more pressing issues driving events, and why a new sense of urgency? It’s very simple really. Having trashed the UK economy, emptied the Treasury, and now faced with a stagnant post-Brexit future, the government needs to offload areas of unsustainable expenditure.
In short it needs to shift the cost, and burden, of providing health services onto the private sector, along with the often hidden astronomical costs associated with providing future pensions and meeting medical negligence claims.
Compare to our privatised Water Utility companies
Will a privatised health service deliver better health care? Well, if you can effectively destroy the NHS then you can argue it will. But for an honest assessment, we need look no further than our privatised Water Utility companies.
We’ve seen how the huge profits these foreign owned companies make are swiftly spirited away out of the Country, rather than re-invested in better services.
Why would Overseas Private Health Care providers be any different?
A better class of government needed
What our Country desperately needs is a better class of government, along with a better class of politician. But for that we need a better class of voter.
We need voters who are not gullible and easily won over by pre-election lies and spin, and who will use their vote in the ballot box to demand much needed change with a reinvigorated NHS where hardworking dedicated staff are properly rewarded and cared for.
Image: Nicolas J Leclercq under CC BY 2.0
