GPs are shifting to support the LibDems. These are people working very much at the sharp end of the NHS.
A poll of GPs voting intentions found that 31% intend to vote Liberal Democrat, compared with only 219% in 2017.
www.pressreader.com/uk/i-newspaper/20191119/281767041059649
@JonAshworth
This general election is about the future of our NHS and what the Tories have done to it.
This is what frontline NHS staff are saying
If you care about the NHS Please don't vote conservative
twitter.com/JonAshworth/status/1196336704933765120?s=20
The broad picture of NHS performance over the last seven years or so does not look encouraging. Of the trends across ten measures of service quality, seven have deteriorated and are currently on trend for even poorer performance; two (MRSA and C. difficile) have plateaued, following improvement in previous years; and one (diagnostic waiting times), while now on a downward trend, remains above target and similar to levels in 2011.
But there does appear to be an emerging answer to the question QualityWatch posed at its outset concerning the possible trade-off between performance and funding growth. Performance across a majority of the quality metrics analysed began to deteriorate three or four years into the period of much slower funding growth for the NHS.
With current Government spending plans for the next five years to 2022/23 set to continue the relatively low growth of the last seven years, it remains to be seen whether trends in many of the key quality measures examined here will continue on the deteriorating paths they have taken over the last few years, or whether the NHS can find new ways to reverse these trends.
Following the 2017 Autumn Budget settlement for the NHS over the next few years, the view of the NHS England board is that “even with some increased volume, and even assuming this year's [2017/18] unprecedented elective demand management success continues, our current forecast is that – without offsetting reductions in other areas of care – NHS constitution waiting times standards, in the round, will not be fully funded and met next year.”
In other words, the opportunity cost of stabilising current overspending by trusts and prioritising emergency and primary care services may well be further deterioration in elective waiting lists and waiting times.
Think the NHS is safe in Tory hands?
Think again.
Reference.
The Kings Fund report 1997-2010
The Nuffield Trust, trends in the NHS 2010-2017.
Delayed transfers of care targets.
These have risen rapidly since 2014.
Health care associated infection.
This is one area of notable success in the NHS with the cases of MRSA, C.Difficile, and MSSA with the teen continuing downwards until 2015 since which the graph seems to be flattening out.
The waiting list and elective waiting times.
Once again the figures remained fairly consistent until 2014, since when the waiting times have risen swiftly and by 2017 it had risen by 50%. Remember that none if these figures will have decreased since 2017
Accident and emergency waiting times.
Since 2010 the target has been that no more than 5% of folk should wait more than 4 hours to be seen.
This was largely met between 2010 and 2014 but since then the target has been consistently missed.
However most alarmingly the trend has risen at a very fast rate with every month exceeding the target at an ever higher level.
The Labour Party took government in 1997 with the promise of “saving the NHS”.
During the Major years he had struggled to reverse much of the damage done by Thatcher, and although he was a constant and passionate exponent if the NHS, was largely unsuccessful in reversing much of the funding cuts inflicted on the NHS by Thatcher.
The NHS was perceived to be in crises by the time the Labour government took control in 1997.
The Kings Fund produced a progress report from 1997 to 2010 measuring progress against a number of criteria.
* Between 1997 and 2010 funding for the NHS doubled.
*progress during those 13 years had been considerable
*the NHS was high performing in a number of areas
* more people were being seen, more quickly.
A number of important achievements are highlighted, including major reductions in waiting times and rates of health care associated infections and progress in reducing smoking rates. There has been a concerted effort to implement national standards of care for major diseases across the NHS which has contributed to the continued falls in deaths from cancer and cardiovascular disease.
There are less obvious changes too, including improvements in data collection and reporting, at a national and local level. There is now far more information about performance in the public domain, accessible to patients, carers and members of the public, than ever before.
The report concluded
Despite the challenges the future holds, the next government must build on the progress made and aspire to create an NHS that can deliver quality to all patients, in all areas, all of the time.
So now let’s turn to what has happened to this progress since 1997 and whether it has been maintained over the past 10 years.
Cancer waiting times.
The Labour government had reduced the waiting time, with 85% of patients waiting no more than 62 days to first definitive treatment.
Anyone who has been unfortunate enough to have suffered from cancer like me will know how terrifying the wait is.
Between 2009 and 2014 the target of 85% was consistently reached and in most cases exceeded. So less than a total of 15% of people with suspected cancer were having to face that awful wait.
From 2014 the target was failed and has not once returned to the 85% since then. In fact it is climbing and by 2017 was consistently about 20% of people having to wait and is still climbing.
We all know that cancer success rates are related to early intervention.
I expect the NHS cancer mortality rates will almost certainly deteriorate.
Registering is free, easy, and means you can join the discussion, watch threads and lots more.
Register now »Already registered? Log in with:
Gransnet »Get our top conversations, latest advice, fantastic competitions, and more, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
