Can the Tories be trusted with OUR National Health Service

It's not just the money it's how it is used eg paying for private providers. My GP has taken early retirement. He told me the worry and overwork was making him ill and destroying his family. He has been on a committee of GPs which reported to the government 10 years ago what was going to happen with the increased demand.

Our local community is fighting against the closure of the A&E which is being replaced with a private 'Urgent Care Service'. The authorities say they cannot find the doctors to provide a 24 hour A&E so emergencies have had to travel 15 or more miles to the nearest hospitals where often they have to wait for hours because of the overload. Ambulances are queuing for hours because they cannot unload their patients. Since they have opened Urgent Care the ambulances have not been able to unload patients because Urgent Care does not meet the required medical criteria. This is not money well spent!!

There have been demonstrations outside the hospital for almost a year. Many of these demonstrators are elderly or disabled. The hospital staff privately commend them for their efforts but are not allowed to publicly support them.

Tories blame Labour. Labour blame Tory. The mismanagement of our brilliant NHS is criminal. They should have been training Doctors and Nurses years ago. It's not rocket science as they say. We baby boomers have been here since the late 1940s!

I could go on about Brexit and our wonderful European NHS staff but hey who's going to listen to me?! Despite that let me say that I have never yet met an NHS employee who has not been compassionate and professional.

www.thecanary.co/2017/03/15/richard-branson-didnt-get-way-now-hes-suing-nhs/

This explains what Branson is doing.
Anyone live in Surrey?

Libdems being hopeful.

www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/16/lib-dems-call-for-1p-income-tax-rise-to-provide-nhs-funding-boost

Somehow, after what happened with the budget, I don't think it will happen, even though the majority of the public wouldn't mind, according to many polls.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/17/care-cuts-may-have-fuelled-largest-rise-death-rates-50-years/

Who voted for this?
They'll soon not be able to complain about the vast number of baby boomers.

But it does say - may have and not has

"Cuts to social care budgets and the “widespread failure” of NHS services may have fuelled the biggest rise in death rates for 50 years, research by Oxford University suggests.

The study said an “unprecedented” spike in mortality - with 30,000 excess deaths in 2015 - could be linked to budget reductions for councils, and a rapid deterioration in performance by health services.

Researchers said increases in death rates were likely to continue, with recent levels the highest they have been for three years, without “urgent intervention” to boost funding for health and social care. "

Just 30,000 excess deaths in the year. That's okay then. Not that many. Experts don't count, either.

www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/19/nhs-impossible-budget-crisis-health-trusts

No, they can't be trusted with our NHS.

So is there any more doubt that the Tories are intent on destroying the NHS. Funding has flat lined since 2010 and this is to continue until at least 2021. Time to put pressure on our MPs big time.

Yes, you definitely need to. My local hospital had the only ward closed, and it was feared that it would be closed altogether.
The council has taken it over as a community asset. The ward was supposed to be opened again this week. It has been put off until the end of the month now. You definitely need to keep a check on your local STP and find out what is happening in your area. The whole point of STPs is to stop it being a national health service. Divide and rule, then privatise.

www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/18/nhs-eu-nurses-quit-record-numbers

Theresa May needs a rethink about EU citizens working here. Nurses can go anywhere.

This petition needs a lot more signatures.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/171869

"During a recent 10-day stay in a London hospital I impertinently asked each of the 49 people who came to my bedside where they were from originally. Ten were British, five Portuguese, four Spanish, three Philippino, two each from India, Ghana, Somalia and Finland, and one each from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Ireland, Romania, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Nepal, Brazil, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zaire, Malaysia, Mauritius, Eritrea, Sri Lanka, Iran and Nigeria. These figures should mean something to politicians. They certainly meant a great deal to me and to my fellow ward-mates. "

A letter in the Guardian.
10 from Britain.
17 from the EU.

A problem if the EU group all decide to go home.

durhamjen

"Researchers said increases in death rates were likely to continue, with recent levels the highest they have been for three years, without “urgent intervention” to boost funding for health and social care. "

Just 30,000 excess deaths in the year."

I would rather have an honest law to make euthanasia voluntary than this sneaky, back door policy!!!

Blindingly obvious that if there are increasing numbers of very old people there will be increasing demand on the NHS. And therefore if we want to maintain service levels, more money will be needed. Along with policies that help the NHS to thrive.
No evidence that piecemeal bits of privatisation will help.
Depressing isn't it.

Grandma2213, euthanasia is voluntary. When my husband was dying of cancer, he just stopped eating and drinking, quite voluntarily.

Just seen this, another three NHS trusts gone into special measures.

press.labour.org.uk/post/158701492504/jonathan-ashworth-responds-to-news-that-three-more

Although the government is giving £2 billion over three years for social care, it is drawing up guidelines for how it should be spent.
Can councils not be trusted to know where the problems are?

www.24housing.co.uk/news/councils-need-full-flexibility-over-social-care-funding/

Also, there is no guarantee that any extra money will continue after 2020.

durhamjen I am so sorry to hear of your loss and believe me I respect your DH's choice. I had no intention of causing pain or offence. What I was suggesting was that by cutting services the government is actually introducing a form of euthanasia that is not voluntary (30 000 excess deaths in the year - and increasing).

As I said on an earlier rant post this is a problem that has been obviously building for at least 60 years and throwing money away on highly paid managers, surveys, consultations and on private care is clearly not effective or efficient.

This is what happened to the extra money promised to the NHS.

www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/26/half-of-2bn-boost-for-nhs-spent-outside-health-service-report

Rant away, Grandma2213.

All these NHS trusts do not want to go ahead with the STP changes.

www.stopthestps.org.uk/david-mowatt/4593766519

Hmmppphh! My NHS trust isn't on the list. It's an absolute dog's dinner. I sent an objection as an individual and I know my town council did.

Grandma2213 What about the fact that the NHS is dealing with far more old people, with many more health conditions than previously? That's a good thing surely, but it's not free. There's also the issue of improved live-birth rates, especially for very premature babies. Another good thing, but at a financial cost.

PS. The NHS spends less on "management" than it used to, apart from the changes introduced by the Conservatives.

daphnedill Precisely my earlier point. We have been growing older for 60+ years and paying our NI all that time. Also science has developed more successful treatments. Forward planning should have been in place to train NHS staff, provide more efficient hospital services and social care to deal efficiently with this inevitable situation. Governments (no matter what political party) seem to hobbble along in 5 year cycles and fail to see the bigger picture.

And put more money into the NHS and social care! That really is the bottom line.

Most National Insurance money goes to the state pension. Funding for the NHS comes out of general taxation, but there is political pressure to keep taxation rates down. The Conservatives even made it a manifesto pledge not to increase income tax.

And we know what happened about that. They also pledged not to raise NI.

inews.co.uk/essentials/news/health/brexit-uk-eu-health-issues/

We need the government to sort out the NHS and Brexit. Otherwise it can only get worse. 135,000 NHS and healthcare staff are from the EU. A record number of NHS staff have left the country since Brexit. The NHS is pretending it's because of stricter language rules!