We're giving £2.50 to the Save Lewisham Hospital legal fund for each mug sold |
The NHS, as a public service free at the point of use, is
under threat. Regulations introduced in
March to supplement the 2012 Health and Social Care Act commit the newly
established clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to put virtually all local
health services out to competitive tender.
Widespread public pressure and criticism from across the medical
profession forced Jeremy Hunt (always have to be careful how I spell his
surname) to make last-minute revisions to the regulations.
But they’ve not exactly improved things: for example, Regulation 5 now says CCGs can
procure services from an existing provider without competitive bids only where they’re
"satisfied that the services…are capable of being provided only by that
provider". But if a private
provider thinks it can provide that service, it can challenge the CCG decision
in the courts.
A recent Tory policy
paper suggested there should be an annual limit to the number of visits paid for by the NHS anyone can make in a
year: beyond the ration, patients would have to pay. Hunt was forced to declare that this was not,
nor ever would be, part of Tory policy.
However, the idea is thought to be the brainchild of party chairman Grant
‘Alias’ Shapps, and Oliver Letwin, responsible for party policy. Letwin it was who (reportedly) told a private
meeting in 2004 that ‘…the NHS will not exist within five years’ of a Tory election
victory.
Whatever, there are
other more recent and tangible signs of government plans. That well known standard-bearer of socialism,
the Daily Telegraph, reported late last year that ‘more patients are going
private because the NHS is increasingly cutting back on providing a range of
treatments.’ It quoted Dr Clare Gerada,
chairman of the Royal College of GPs, as saying it was “incontrovertible” that
increased NHS rationing was behind the increase in going private, a trend she
described as “very sad”.
But services don’t have
to be threatened with privatisation to be at risk. Medical opinion suggests that A&E services
are unlikely to be attractive to private providers, as they’re too expensive –
which is why they are being cut, all over the country. One of the first to hit the headlines, largely
because of a vigorous local campaign, was Lewisham A&E, which SIC reported
on earlier ( At
risk: an A&E near you). Despite
some local issues fundamentally the problem there is the same as that facing
the other A&E services under threat: restrictions in funding leading to reduced
numbers of emergency units, and – this is key – Hunt trying to act beyond his
legal powers.
The Save Lewisham
hospital campaign has secured a judicial review, scheduled for July. The case essentially is that Hunt’s decision
to substantially cut services at the hospital is unlawful: according to the campaign
lawyer, ‘The consultation process… was flawed, the four tests Mr Hunt confirmed
would have to be satisfied before any reconfiguration proposals could proceed
have not been met, and the Secretary of State has misunderstood his own legal
powers.’ (See Save Lewisham
Hospital Campaign legal challenge).
A favourable decision
in the courts would be great for Lewisham; but it could also help all the other
local groups fighting similar battles – which is why we’re donating £2.50 for
each of our Humpty Dumpty mugs sold to the campaign legal fund.