Disintegration of the NHS has begun

Sadly the disintegration of the NHS has already begun. The West Midland Strategic Health Authority will be terminated next year as will the Warwickshire NHS Primary Care Trust. Shadow local GP commissioning groups in North Warks, Nuneaton and Bedworth, South Warks and Rugby are already being formed. A new national quango will no doubt allocate funding to localities with guidelines and conditions. The essential feature of the new structure is that private companies including international corporations will be competing for GP allocations along with our local hospitals. We know it is more likely to make health provision more, rather than less expensive so why is it happening?

One clue is contained in the membership of the centre right think tank 2020 Health that helped Mr Lansley draft the Health and Social Care Bill. Its Independent Advisory Council contained chief executives from private health insurers and private health providers (e.g.Tom Sackville, NM Rothschild, Dame Bridgett Ogilvie and Dr Andy Jones). The NHS will be up for grabs. This is all part of the Conservative agenda of rolling back the state and outsourcing and privatising everything it can.

Currently the Secretary of State for Health will still remain responsible for health care in England and universal access to necessary healthcare remains the right of all citizens. We can thank the Liberal and Labour peers for getting these conditions written into the new bill. However, if the Conservatives gain a majority in the next election what is to stop them expanding the privatisation by allowing a two tier system of service delivery?

My hope is that Liberal MPs will follow their conscience and vote against this bill in its final reading, though given their unanimous support for it in the first reading the chances are slim. The suggestion that because implementation has begun it is too late to stop it, is a sad reflection on current democracy in Conservative England given that he bill still awaits final reading and royal assent. - Graham Lacey, address supplied.