A&E waiting times at 9-year high
The number of patients having to wait more than four hours in A&E has reached its highest level in nine years.
NHS
Ring-fencing the NHS and schools is no longer viable
The chancellor went on the Today programme this morning to trumpet his success in getting seven government departments to agree on their budgets for 2015-16 as part of the Spending Review that he will announce on 26 June. It is reported that they have all agreed to cuts of between 8 and 10 per cent.
An open letter to the next chief executive of NHS England
To Whom it May Concern,
Congratulations on your appointment as the next chief executive of NHS England. You take over an organisation in a volatile state, facing funding cuts, despite the government’s rhetoric.
In place of fear: It’s time to tackle alarming health inequalities
In Place of Fear, the title of Aneurin Bevan’s book published on the 10th anniversary of the Beveridge Report, is synonymous with all that the welfare state stood for and what it sought to achieve. In 2013, as the principles of Bevan and Beveridge are being killed off, the belief that inequalities should narrow is also under attack.
Had an accident playing sport? The Tories want you to pay for your treatment
People in Wales suffering accidents through sporting activity could be subject to an ‘activity tax’ under new Tory proposals. Conservative AM Darren Millar said on a radio phone-in show that individuals putting themselves at high risk through their own choice could be charged by the NHS.
Improving access to mental health services – it’s time to act now
Whilst I disagree fundamentally with many of the government’s reforms to the NHS, a distraction and expense the health service does not need, there is one commitment I do support and one for which ministers must firmly be held to account.
Don’t blame NHS strain on foreigners: try other government departments first
Before rushing to blame foreign visitors for putting a strain on the health service with some rather dubious statistics, perhaps the prime minister and his health secretary would do well to examine the policies of other departments of government that are both costing the NHS money and preventing NHS staff from doing what they are qualified to do.
Why we need a political campaign to reinstate the NHS
By removing the mandate on government to provide a health service, the Health and Social Care Act 2012 is the crowning achievement of the architects of this long recessional from universality. Our response must be political too.
Prescription charges for long-term conditions are unfair and out-of-date
Thanks to ever-increasing prescription costs for the essential medication people with long-term conditions need to keep them well, or even alive, many are facing the stark choice between food, clothing, bills or their prescriptions.
Private sector competition had ‘negative effect’ on NHS productivity
Private sector competition in the NHS has had a “small but significant” negative impact on productivity, with NHS Trusts in areas where there is a monopoly performing better than those where there is greater private sector competition, according to a report out today.