Tuesday 16 January 2018

Running down NHS

Theresa May`s pathetic attempt to display strong leadership, along with an equally feeble effort to convince voters that she is listening, explain her recent endeavours to replace the "lightweight and serial blame-passer" who is Jeremy Hunt (Pity the NHS, but it`s not time to get rid of Jeremy Hunt, 15/01/18). Toynbee is right to offer "two cheers for Hunt remaining", simply because his replacement would not only try to put his or her stamp on yet another "re-disorganisation" of the health service, but would be a Tory, and in this government that means someone who agrees with the policy of running down the NHS until privatisation is the only option remaining.
   The GP, Dave Triff, suggests that it would never cross people`s minds that "the government would have deliberately underfunded" the health service for the past seven years, but why not ("My heart surgery was cancelled on the day", 15/01/18)? Tory policy since 2010 has been to shrink the state, taking spending levels down to levels last seen in the 1930s. Running out of doctors, nurses, beds and care homes neither happens overnight nor by accident.
   A government which is prepared to use unqualified students in short-staffed hospitals, to cancel operations for thousands of sick patients at the last minute, and then attempt to mislead parliament and the public with "disingenuous" figures is only worthy of our contempt. A general election has never been more urgently required!

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