Doctors toughen position against Labour's NHS reforms
The British Medical Association moved towards near total opposition to market-like reforms to the National Health Service yesterday. It called for no further involvement of the private sector, a potential end to the split between purchasers and providers and to the private finance initiative.
The decision at the annual representative meeting in Belfast went against the leadership, which had been a fierce critic of elements of the reforms but had worked to maintain a dialogue with ministers.
The 600 doctors at the conference said the BMA now "actively opposes the government's plans", stating "there should be no further involvement of the commercial private sector in providing NHS care".
The government is inviting bids from the private sector to commission healthcare and run family doctor services, establish a new wave of independent treatment centres and commission a new set of diagnostic services. It is also promising the private sector greater involvement in
pathology.
The conference demanded that the association's council campaign for "an integrated, publicly provided, health service in England".
Fundamental values "cannot be maintained if the NHS is broken up and tendered to private corporations", the doctors said, urging their leaders to explore the system in Scotland and Wales, with no split between purchasers and providers.
A rambling and at times contradictory statement was referred to the association's council for action rather than formal passage - an approach that will leave the council leadership with some room for manoeuvre.
But it means the BMA will go into talks with Patricia Hewitt, health secretary, next week opposing core parts of the policy when ministers hoped the meeting would induce doctors and nurses to make the reforms work. Government policies, the meeting declared, were "incoherent" and damaging patient care.
Andy Burnham, health minister, said the BMA "are entitled to their views" but ministers were determined to continue a "constructive dialogue" with clinicians.
The BMA's call came as hospitals in Southampton announced more than 500 job losses, taking the total in England in recent months to about 17,000 as NHS organisations seek to balance their books and reshape services.
Most are cuts in posts rather than immediate redundancies. But Mr Miller said about 20 trusts were, or are, seeking to make doctors redundant, with two gastro-intestinal surgeons in Oxford already given notice.
In Bournemouth, the local foundation trust has turned patients away because it says its local primary care trust will not pay for them.
James Johnson, chairman of council, warned earlier in the week that if the BMA simply demanded that the government drop all its policies "the conversation will be a very short one and you won't be asked back".
That would leave the BMA with "no influence whatsoever" on policy, he added.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4ff6710e-070b-11db-81d7-0000779e2340.html
The decision at the annual representative meeting in Belfast went against the leadership, which had been a fierce critic of elements of the reforms but had worked to maintain a dialogue with ministers.
The 600 doctors at the conference said the BMA now "actively opposes the government's plans", stating "there should be no further involvement of the commercial private sector in providing NHS care".
The government is inviting bids from the private sector to commission healthcare and run family doctor services, establish a new wave of independent treatment centres and commission a new set of diagnostic services. It is also promising the private sector greater involvement in
pathology.
The conference demanded that the association's council campaign for "an integrated, publicly provided, health service in England".
Fundamental values "cannot be maintained if the NHS is broken up and tendered to private corporations", the doctors said, urging their leaders to explore the system in Scotland and Wales, with no split between purchasers and providers.
A rambling and at times contradictory statement was referred to the association's council for action rather than formal passage - an approach that will leave the council leadership with some room for manoeuvre.
But it means the BMA will go into talks with Patricia Hewitt, health secretary, next week opposing core parts of the policy when ministers hoped the meeting would induce doctors and nurses to make the reforms work. Government policies, the meeting declared, were "incoherent" and damaging patient care.
Andy Burnham, health minister, said the BMA "are entitled to their views" but ministers were determined to continue a "constructive dialogue" with clinicians.
The BMA's call came as hospitals in Southampton announced more than 500 job losses, taking the total in England in recent months to about 17,000 as NHS organisations seek to balance their books and reshape services.
Most are cuts in posts rather than immediate redundancies. But Mr Miller said about 20 trusts were, or are, seeking to make doctors redundant, with two gastro-intestinal surgeons in Oxford already given notice.
In Bournemouth, the local foundation trust has turned patients away because it says its local primary care trust will not pay for them.
James Johnson, chairman of council, warned earlier in the week that if the BMA simply demanded that the government drop all its policies "the conversation will be a very short one and you won't be asked back".
That would leave the BMA with "no influence whatsoever" on policy, he added.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4ff6710e-070b-11db-81d7-0000779e2340.html
Health Direct notes that coming on top of the recent mauling given to Labour’s Health Secretary by the normally placid Royal College of Nurses on Thursday, April 27, 2006 Angry RCN nurses drown out health minister the double insult of the BMA members votes against Labour’s reforms means that the Labour govt has an even harder task in implementing their new IT system and the contracting out health services.
posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic at
7:44 AM
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