The NHS is a service not a shrine,” Mr Streeting said. “It is judged by how well it serves the public.”

No, he can’t.

My DD lives in Australia. I know she has to pay for a GP appointment, and also for prescriptions. This also applied to the children.

They have Medicare over there, and you can get some of the cost refunded, depending on financial circumstances.

Also A&E is busy, similar to here, as people go there when they can’t get a GP appointment.

Our doctors might be going to work in Oz, but I don’t think it’s ideal. They have shortages of doctors in the remote, rural areas where no one wants to work.

Nowhere’s perfect.

Yet we aren’t happy with what we’ve got. Wasn’t there a poll last week saying only 26% were ‘satisfied’? Plus 1:10 of us are on a waiting list of one kind or another.

That said, he has the powerful unions (BMA anybody?) to get on side of any changes ….

What changes would you like to see to the benefits system?

Urmstongran

Yet we aren’t happy with what we’ve got. Wasn’t there a poll last week saying only 26% were ‘satisfied’? Plus 1:10 of us are on a waiting list of one kind or another.

That said, he has the powerful unions (BMA anybody?) to get on side of any changes ….

... and the Treasury.

Well, put it this way, it will improve. Staffing levels, morale and investment are all at rock bottom, and Labour will not allow that state of affairs to continue. It’s not a quick fix though, it will take at least two terms in office.

Urmstongran. Well I hope that someone can improve the NHS and I don’t mind which political party. But should it be up to political leaders to initiate improvements? What exactly does top management do in the NHS? Why would anyone trust Wes Streeting with this task? What are his qualifications for this job?

I agree ronib. We rarely (if ever) hear anything about anything from Amanda Pritchard. Most people couldn’t even identify her in a line up I bet.

Germanshepherdsmum

No, he can’t.

As a NHS worker who has worked through many, many changes depending on who's in Government.
Not a hope! I was told at a lecture once, "The NHS is the victim of its own success"
As for a mass exodus to Australia form medics don't believe what you read.

Top management in the NHS does what the government tells it to do.

Visgir1

Germanshepherdsmum

No, he can’t.

As a NHS worker who has worked through many, many changes depending on who's in Government.
Not a hope! I was told at a lecture once, "The NHS is the victim of its own success"
As for a mass exodus to Australia form medics don't believe what you read.

The exodus to Australia is true alright Visgirl, here’s the FullFact about it.
fullfact.org/health/doctors-nhs-rishi-sunak-australia/#:~:text=OECD%20figures%20also%20show%20that,2013%20to%206%2C621%20in%202021.

growstuff Apart from mass vaccinations during Covid, what concrete examples are there of government dictating to top NHS management? I guess you could argue that control of the NHS budget dictates waiting lists?

Certainly I agree with Wes Streeting that technology needs to be used more effectively but even then I would prefer more diagnostic equipment and less reliance on human beings!

growstuff

Top management in the NHS does what the government tells it to do.

Absolutely true, there is no room for anything other than attempting to meet the impossible government targets. Read this and weep. Imagine any enterprise trying to innovate around this framework.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-mandate-2023/the-governments-2023-mandate-to-nhs-england

ronib

growstuff Apart from mass vaccinations during Covid, what concrete examples are there of government dictating to top NHS management? I guess you could argue that control of the NHS budget dictates waiting lists?

Certainly I agree with Wes Streeting that technology needs to be used more effectively but even then I would prefer more diagnostic equipment and less reliance on human beings!

Bedtime reading just attached ronib.

Casdon no not really… the O/P is about Wes Streeting so don’t we need to plough through Labour’s proposals since the Conservatives won’t be in position to implement these policies? So let’s see if we can find them …..

You specifically asked for evidence via concrete examples of government dictating to NHS management ronib? I’m not sure what the attachment was if not that?

Casdon this is future planning. The conservatives are unlikely to be around to push this through.

ronib

growstuff Apart from mass vaccinations during Covid, what concrete examples are there of government dictating to top NHS management? I guess you could argue that control of the NHS budget dictates waiting lists?

Certainly I agree with Wes Streeting that technology needs to be used more effectively but even then I would prefer more diagnostic equipment and less reliance on human beings!

Oh, for goodness' sake! There are loads! Econsults and remote appointments for a start. Accepting physician associates, etc for seconds. Adjusting targets affects the way the NHS delivers, as does financial support. The NHS has a fraction of the scanners and radiography machines per head of population which other countries have. If I had the time, I write a whole list for you. What the current government has done is make the NHS seem as though it's responsible/accountable while all the time the government is pulling the strings.

Casdon

growstuff

Top management in the NHS does what the government tells it to do.

Absolutely true, there is no room for anything other than attempting to meet the impossible government targets. Read this and weep. Imagine any enterprise trying to innovate around this framework.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-mandate-2023/the-governments-2023-mandate-to-nhs-england

They can't.

ronib

Casdon this is future planning. The conservatives are unlikely to be around to push this through.

Why did you ask for evidence of government involvement if you didn’t want to see it?

growstuff government will continue to pull the strings regardless of political affiliation. What qualifies Wes Streeting to pull and push better than anyone else?

Casdon surely the point is that the NHS needs autonomy from changes in government?
As we all know the Conservatives are unlikely to remain in government so why pretend that anything in your evidence is going to stay the course?

‘Our’ NHS doctors will never stand for an insurance based system but will happily run off to Australia & Canada & other countries where they have precisely these systems it seems.

Why not just answer the question I asked you ronib? Why did you ask for evidence about political involvement now and then ignore it? I feel like Laura Kuennsberg interviewing a politician here.