NHS reform: savage, callous, a godsend
The government's proposed reforms to the NHS have aroused much public debate. Would the Health Service benefit from increased competition? Emily Hohler reports.
To Labour, Andrew Lansley's Health Bill is "savage, callous, and a godsend", says Michael Deacon in The Daily Telegraph. The party watches delightedly as GPs vote against it and protesters shout "codswallop". Over 100,000 people signed a petition calling for the bill to be withdrawn. The lesson here for the government, albeit too late to learn, is: if you want to reform the NHS, "don't let on". When a Tory says NHS reform', many people hear: "your mother will be tipped out of her hospital bed and made to perform her own hip operation in the car park".
What "agitates" opponents most is competition, says The Daily Telegraph. But new research by the London School of Economics shows that measures introduced six years ago by the last government to encourage competition between hospitals have worked. Their study of two million patients found it reduced costs and increased efficiency.
Four separate studies have tested the effects of competition in the NHS, say Julian le Grand and Zack Cooper in the FT. The findings are clear and consistent: patient outcomes are better. Yet as opposition mounts and Lansley's proposals look like being "emasculated", there is a "real risk" that this evidence will be ignored. Caving in would be a mistake.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Competition is vital, agrees Stephen Bubb in The Times, but there is more common ground between the coalition and the opposition than one might think. "Most politicians agree that the system can't cope." There are 18 million people with long-term health conditions in Britain and more than 20% of the population is over 60. Both figures are growing. "Medical advances, lifestyle changes and demographic shifts mean increased demand for NHS services that cannot be matched by a rise in money."
Observers agree that to make the necessary changes especially shifting spending towards preventative, community-based services to avoid spending 70% of funds on long-term conditions the NHS must let "new providers with new ideas break the bureaucratic stranglehold on delivering services". Politicians must build on common ground to enact sensible reform.
Yes, the NHS needs modernising and would benefit from more competition, but Lansley's reforms are still a "disaster", says Philip Stephens in the FT. The surviving good elements of the bill will be "buried" in "organisational upheaval", cost billions to implement and officials fear "meltdown" as the shake-up "collides with a ferocious squeeze" on the NHS budget.
It is not too late to turn back. However, David Cameron may think it is, says Max Pemberton in The Daily Telegraph. A retreat risks being seen as a "show of tremendous weakness". Cameron is "putting political pride before the welfare of the nation".
Sign up to Money Morning
Our team, led by award winning editors, is dedicated to delivering you the top news, analysis, and guides to help you manage your money, grow your investments and build wealth.
Emily has worked as a journalist for more than thirty years and was formerly Assistant Editor of MoneyWeek, which she helped launch in 2000. Prior to this, she was Deputy Features Editor of The Times and a Commissioning Editor for The Independent on Sunday and The Daily Telegraph. She has written for most of the national newspapers including The Times, the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, The Evening Standard and The Daily Mail, She interviewed celebrities weekly for The Sunday Telegraph and wrote a regular column for The Evening Standard. As Political Editor of MoneyWeek, Emily has covered subjects from Brexit to the Gaza war.
Aside from her writing, Emily trained as Nutritional Therapist following her son's diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes in 2011 and now works as a practitioner for Nature Doc, offering one-to-one consultations and running workshops in Oxfordshire.
-
Best funds to add to your ISA or SIPP before the Budget
With Labour expected to increase taxes, ISAs and SIPPs could be a great way to protect yourself from any CGT hikes. We look at the best funds to buy now
By Katie Williams Published
-
Starling Bank slapped with £29 million fine over ‘shockingly lax’ financial crime controls
The Financial Conduct Authority has fined Starling Bank £29 million over failings related to financial crime and its financial sanctions screenings
By Kalpana Fitzpatrick Published