NHS Bill - For Better or For Worse?

Today the NHS bill will be voted on by the Lords, it comes among concerns being raised from health professionals and protesters from many areas of the public. The confusion lies in the intentions of the bill, the Conservatives say it will make a more efficient health service, where as opponents say it is another move towards the destruction of public owned healthcare. So who is telling the truth? 

Block the Bill demonstration Sunday 9th October

One issue that has been raised by many health professionals is the destruction of Primary Care Trusts and the introduction of groups of GPs, nurses and other health workers who will commission supplies instead. The problems with this are clear, GPs are not trained to manage budgets and are not likely to have the time to do this job which up until now has had a whole entity dealing with it. Ordering medicine and equipment for a hospital is a massive job and the government have failed to make clear the way in which they plan to fit this in to doctors schedules. The idea of using doctors, nurses ect. to find out exactly what a hospital needs is sensible, there is no point second guessing the professionals, but it seems to be a step too far to make them completely responsible for this task.

Problems With Privatization 


This bill will increase the private sectors involvement in the NHS and this holds many problems. Firstly, it questions the entire ethos of the National Health Service. It was set up as a health system owned by the public for the public. This bill does not change the 'free at the point of use' rule but does seem like it is leading in that direction. I think it is fair to say the majority of the British people don't want an American style health system.

Another fear people hold about the proposed changes is that private companies will cherry pick the most profitable treatments and surgeries and leave the tax payer to foot the bill for the expensive parts of the health system. This is a very real problem, the idea of this change is to cheapen the NHS but most money goes to recovery which is unlikely to be dealt with by the private sector.

The final major problem, which is arguably the most important, is that private companies will not hold the same accountability as public owned entities. If you have one company preparing a patient for surgery, another one doing it, and a third dealing with post surgery recovery, if something goes wrong it is easy to blame someone else. This is not an issue if it is all run by one institution.

Positives of Privatization 

If private health care is dealt with properly it can create a dynamic and effective system. Singapore's health service is remarkably successful, every person receives a set amount of money from the government for health bills each year, they then choose what to spend their money on. This cuts waste which is the major problem in the NHS, it creates a market and markets (in most cases) mean efficiency. Singapore also have Catastrophe Insurance which is for people who suffer a long term or expensive illness, the government will then step in and pay the extra. This is not what the Tories are putting forward but it shows that private does not always mean bad, it just has to be managed in a way that does not decrease the 'free' nature of the health system. However, we have to ask ourselves whether we trust the Conservatives, the champions of privatization, to stick to an NHS that is equal and fair.

WHOSE NHS? OUR NHS!


This bill has been hit by major protests throughout its life. The Conservatives paused and reexamined the proposal as a result of the questions raised about the bill. It was then rushed through the Commons and is now at the Lords, its last chance to change. The grievance's people have are to do with the idea of privatization, people do not want us to descend into insurance based health care or an unequal health system which favors the rich. There is also the issue that neither the Conservatives or the Lib Dems had this policy change in their manifestos, so do they have the mandate for the bill.

If this bill is passed then the NHS will change, whether that be for better or for worse is debatable but the National Health Service is one of the most loved institutions in the country and this policy has the potential to be the biggest mistake the Conservatives make this parliament.