Sunday, September 30, 2012
Labour self-destruct on health
Health is, of course fully devolved to the Welsh Government but that does not stop the First Minister and other Labour AMs distracting attention from their own failures by throwing all kinds of inaccurate accusations around about the Coalition Government's intentions towards the NHS.
It is interesting therefore, as revealed by this post on Liberal Democrat Voice, that Labour appear to have taken the decision to leave in place the reforms they have so vehemently derided and which they have characterised as privatisation and breaking up the health service.
As Mark Pack reports, at a Q&;A session, Labour leader Ed Miliband told delegates and reporters that:
I think what would be not sensible is for us to come along and say, ‘well, Andrew Lansley, now Jeremy Hunt, they’re changing all the arrangements, have these new clinical commissioning groups and so on, and we’re just going to reverse it all back and spend another £3bn on another top-down bureaucratic organisation.
Though his Shadow Health Secretary, Andy Burnham, was not exactly on message. He said:
I’ll repeal the Bill. Full stop.
Is that the same as reverse? Labour are all over the place on this issue, even more so when you consider their record. After all, it is not as if they do not have form when it comes to privatising the English NHS:
Liberal Democrats also ensured that more services will now be covered by tariffs, so in the future private providers will only be allowed to offer their services for new treatments where they agree to meet NHS standards and be paid NHS prices.
Mental health services will now be covered by a tariff, so in the future private providers won’t be able to undercut the NHS through a race to the bottom on price and competition will now be based on quality, not price whilst commissioners will be required to follow “best value” principles when tendering for services not included in the tariff.
Finally, Liberal Democrats in Government established local Overview and Scrutiny Committees to scrutinise all health service providers receiving public funds including private providers. Foundation Trusts will now have to publish separate accounts for their public and private income, so that public income can never be used to subsidise private care.
Liberal Democrats secured changes to the Act so that Foundation Trusts cannot focus on private income at the expense of NHS patients and they made sure that every Trust has to spell out clearly how any additional private income will be spent to deliver better care for NHS patients.
No wonder Ed Miliband wants to keep the Act in place.
It is interesting therefore, as revealed by this post on Liberal Democrat Voice, that Labour appear to have taken the decision to leave in place the reforms they have so vehemently derided and which they have characterised as privatisation and breaking up the health service.
As Mark Pack reports, at a Q&;A session, Labour leader Ed Miliband told delegates and reporters that:
I think what would be not sensible is for us to come along and say, ‘well, Andrew Lansley, now Jeremy Hunt, they’re changing all the arrangements, have these new clinical commissioning groups and so on, and we’re just going to reverse it all back and spend another £3bn on another top-down bureaucratic organisation.
Though his Shadow Health Secretary, Andy Burnham, was not exactly on message. He said:
I’ll repeal the Bill. Full stop.
Is that the same as reverse? Labour are all over the place on this issue, even more so when you consider their record. After all, it is not as if they do not have form when it comes to privatising the English NHS:
- Labour’s 2006 Act set up Independent Sector Treatment Centres. In order to encourage new providers into the market, Labour allowed private providers to undercut NHS services by paying them on average 11% more than the NHS.
- Labour gave private providers fixed term contracts, so they were paid regardless of whether or not they performed the work.
- As a result, the last Labour Government paid £250million in total to private providers for operations they didn’t even perform.
- Despite this, Labour’s Health Secretary, Andy Burnham, claimed Independent Sector Treatment Centres represented ‘value for money’.
- Labour’s 2006 Act put in place the building blocks that allowed private providers to compete with the NHS on price.
- This allowed PCT’s to run tenders to procure some community and mental health services based on value for money. These services are worth a total of around £15billion to the NHS per year. Labour, however, allowed private providers to compete with the NHS on price, not quality.
- As a result, £700million each from both community and mental health services currently goes to private and other non-NHS providers.
- Labour’s 2006 Act allowed patients to be treated by private providers in Independent Sector Treatment Centres.
- Labour’s 2010 general election manifesto promised to “support an active role for the independent sector” and to give “patients requiring elective care will have the right, in law, to choose from any provider.”
Liberal Democrats also ensured that more services will now be covered by tariffs, so in the future private providers will only be allowed to offer their services for new treatments where they agree to meet NHS standards and be paid NHS prices.
Mental health services will now be covered by a tariff, so in the future private providers won’t be able to undercut the NHS through a race to the bottom on price and competition will now be based on quality, not price whilst commissioners will be required to follow “best value” principles when tendering for services not included in the tariff.
Finally, Liberal Democrats in Government established local Overview and Scrutiny Committees to scrutinise all health service providers receiving public funds including private providers. Foundation Trusts will now have to publish separate accounts for their public and private income, so that public income can never be used to subsidise private care.
Liberal Democrats secured changes to the Act so that Foundation Trusts cannot focus on private income at the expense of NHS patients and they made sure that every Trust has to spell out clearly how any additional private income will be spent to deliver better care for NHS patients.
No wonder Ed Miliband wants to keep the Act in place.
Comments:
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"Health is, of course fully devolved to the Welsh Government..."
Yes, and No, Peter. The Welsh Government is dependent on the Block Grant, which is dependent on the Barnett Formula, which is dependent on what happens to the the structure and costs of the NHS in England. Any changes there directly affects how much money the WG gets. It's a kind of sham devolution, more appearance than reality.
It's a mirage created by Labour, but gladly supported by the Tories and LibDems.. supposedly the 'Home Rule' party.
Yes, and No, Peter. The Welsh Government is dependent on the Block Grant, which is dependent on the Barnett Formula, which is dependent on what happens to the the structure and costs of the NHS in England. Any changes there directly affects how much money the WG gets. It's a kind of sham devolution, more appearance than reality.
It's a mirage created by Labour, but gladly supported by the Tories and LibDems.. supposedly the 'Home Rule' party.
# posted by 
: 3:26 PM
: 3:26 PM
The word from Manchester today is that Labour would repeal the Health and Social Welfare Act in its entirety. What are we expected to believe?
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