Labour lies and broken NHS
promises:
Two
thirds of patients fail to get a GP appointment within 48 hours
Thu, Oct 23, 2008- Two thirds of NHS patients cannot get an appointment
with their GP within 48 hours, a wide ranging report by the healthcare
watchdog has found- and the situation is getting worse as last year 80
per cent of patients could see their GPs within 48 hours.
NHS
complaints system too bureaucratic for patients, says MPs' report
Mon, Oct 13, 2008- Only a tiny fraction of patients unhappy with
the NHS make a formal complaint because of a bureaucratic, confusing system
which changes little, according to a new report by the National Audit
Office (NAO).
Phil
Hope takes over social care brief at Dept of Health
Thu, Oct 9, 2008- Phil Hope has been appointed as a minister
in the Department of Health, replacing Ivan Lewis
Cancer
drugs prescription charge move by Stalinst Brown is bizarre
Wed, Oct 1, 2008- Health economists and opposition politicians
have expressed bemusement at Gordon Brown’s decision to exempt cancer
sufferers from prescription charges when patients are having to pay thousands
of pounds for cancer drugs that the NHS will not fund.
King's
Fund- labour's NHS top up payments strategy is untenable
Thu, Sep 18, 2008- The King’s Fund believes the current
policy and practice on top-ups, which prohibits people from privately
purchasing drugs not available on the health service while continuing
a course of NHS care, is untenable.
NHS
surplus prompts health funding row
Mon, Sep 08, 2008- A political row broke out over health funding
as the National Health Service forecast a £1.75bn surplus for the
current financial year.
Labour
targets created £90,000 NHS smoking fraud
Thu, Aug 28, 2008- A man defrauded nearly £90,000 from
the NHS by working as a stop smoking adviser and signing up non smoking
strangers to exaggerate his success rates and income.
Top
up payments for drugs are fair says voters
Thu, Aug 21, 2008- Patients should be given the chance to pay
extra for the best available drugs in addition to their NHS treatment,
according to a Sunday Times poll.
NHS
co-payment ban in disarray
Mon, Aug 11, 2008- Labour's ban on NHS patients paying for medicines
the health service does not fund is in disarray. Figures obtained under
freedom of information legislation show that NHS hospitals were allowing
dozens of patients to top up with private drugs before the government
warned them it was not allowed under NHS rules in July last year.
NHS
spurns gift of free cancer drug
Mon, Aug 4, 2008- Bosses in the National Health Service have
refused to administer a drug to a patient with advanced kidney cancer
even though the medicine is being provided free.
Tensions
grow over cancer treatments as NICE blocks drugs
Fri, Jul 25, 2008- The new generation of cancer medicines raises
delicate and potentially explosive issues for the labour government’s
medicines advisory body National Institute for Curbing Expenditure (NICE).
Too
high a price- Financial Times's review of labour's drug denials to cancer
patients
Wed, Jul 16, 2008- Doctors' leaders became the latest group to
demand change to labour government guidance that refuses National Health
Service care to seriously ill patients who seek to prolong their lives
by paying for drugs that the NHS will not provide for them. The policy
is so clearly unjustifiable that legal or political pressure looks sure
to force ministers to concede the point eventually. But any delay will
be damaging.
Health
Direct- top up health service care is fair
Fri, Jul 11, 2008- Health Direct points out
that when some complication arises after private surgery, many patients
land in the NHS and are treated, not sent away. Equally NHS dental services-
when one can find them, require additional payments from patients.
NHS
at 60- Labour no longer trusted on National Health Service
Mon, Jun 30, 2008- NHS at 60- On the eve of the NHS's sixtieth
aniversary a new poll shows that Labour is no longer the party trusted
to bring in the health reforms that are needed to safeguard the NHS for
future generations.
NHS
hospitals lose 32,000 beds in a decade
Thu, Jun 19, 2008- More than 30,000 hospital beds have been lost
since Labour came to power, with record cuts in NHS wards last year- which
Health Direct chronicled.
NHS
constitution- another bad labour idea says FT Editorial
Fri, June 6, 2008- The key test of any health reform should be
whether it will actually improve the quality of care that patients receive.
NHS
18 week waiting list promise likely to be broken
Mon, Jun 2, 2008- A milestone in the labour government’s
drive to ensure that no one waits more than 18 weeks for hospital treatment
looks set to be missed, suggest latest figures from the Department of
Health.
Cannabis
U Turn as labour again disregards scientists
Tue, May 20, 2008- Cannabis is to be reclassified as a class
B drug, Jacqui Smith has said. The home secretary's statement to MPs came
despite the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs' review - commissioned
by Gordon Brown - saying it should stay class C.
Labour
breaks promise to care home residents funding
Thu, May 15, 2008- A high profile group of organisations have
written to Care Minister Ivan Lewis after the Department of Health reneged
on its promise to consult on increasing the Personal Expenses Allowance
(PEA) for more than 250,000 care home residents.
NHS
fails to dent private insurance
Fri, May 9, 2008- Private medical insurance has remained robust
in the face of competition from supposedly falling National Health Service
waiting times.
Polyclinics
'will hit most vulnerable'
Fri, May 2, 2008- Closing GP surgeries to replace them with "polyclinics"
will hit the most vulnerable members of society and damage the fabric
of local communities, David Cameron said.
Statistically
speaking, 100% of us are fed up with dodgy data
Thu, Apr 17, 2008- The majority of 25 to 34-year-olds have sex
three to four times a week,” Health Direct reads.
There I am, minding my own business on the train and a statistic attacks.
Four times a week?
Vital
year of reform for healthy looking NHS claims nhs spin boss
Mon, Apr 07, 2008- The National Health Service faces a critical
year that will shape its performance over the next decade, according to
David Nicholson, its chief executive.
Pressure
to reveal ex-ministers' outside pay
Fri, Apr 04, 2008- Pressure is mounting on the authorities at
Westminster to overhaul the rules that allow MPs and peers to avoid disclosure
of earnings from outside interests.
Two
in five trusts turn away women in labour
Thursday, April 03, 2008- Women in labour were turned away by
42 per cent of trusts last year, figures obtained under the Freedom of
Information Act show as labour's maternity promises look stillborn.
Gulf
in health between rich and poor widens under Labour government
Thu, Mar 27, 2008- Health inequalities between rich and poor
have widened since Labour came to office in 1997.
Terry
Pratchett funds Alzheimer's study as labour wouldn't fund treatment
Thurs, Mar 20, 2008- Best selling fantasy author Terry Pratchett
is to donate £500,000 for research into Alzheimer's disease. Pratchett,
announced the pledge at the Alzheimer's Research Trust annual conference.
Average
NHS waiting times up under Labour
Thu, Mar 13, 2008- Average hospital waiting times have risen
under Labour, figures show. Before Labour came to power in 1997 waits
of more than 18 months were not uncommon, but now few people wait longer
than six months in England.
Hugh
Grant calls for terminal care funds and labour to keep it's promise
Tue, Feb 26, 2008- Hugh Grant accused labour ministers of breaking
a key commitment to the terminally ill as he called for extra funds for
their care on Tuesday.
Row
erupts over NHS health trusts in centralist health dictats
Thu, Feb 21, 2008- A battle for the soul
of NHS reform has broken out after accusations that the labour government
has usurped key hospitals’ independence.
Health
Minister defensive over Cerner NPfIT NHS progress
Mon, Feb 18, 2008- When advisers to ministers write replies to
Parliamentary questions they have no legal duty to be candid. Within reason
they can say what they like. So for them answering written Parliamentary
questions may be no more challenging than playing tennis with the net
down.
Alan
Johnson scraps with GPs over pay and opening hours
Thu, Feb 07, 2008- The 2004 general practitioner contract which
the labour Government is now messily trying to unpick set a new benchmark
for ineptitude by the Department of Health, whose weakness in contractual
negotiations is legendary.
Single
sex wards are broken promise Lard Darzi a Health Minister warns
Tue Jan 29, 2008- Lord Darzi believes that labour's 2002 election
manifesto to promise single sex NHS wards are impossible to achieve without
considerable new investment.
Labour
units failing to meet maternity guidelines
Fri
Jan 25 2008- More than four in ten maternity units in England offer
poor or below average care, a report by the healthcare watchdog concludes
today.
Deaf
aids postcode lottery scandal breaks 18 week waiting promise
Mon Jan 07 2008- Some people in England are facing waits of nearly
two and a half years for an NHS hearing aid, the RNID charity says.
Labour
U turn on mixed sex hospital wards
Fri Dec 28 2007- Labour has abandoned its key manifesto pledge
to eliminate the controversial practice of mixed sex wards, it has emerged.
Patricia
Hewitt cashes in on health post
Fri 21 Dec 2007- Patricia Hewitt, the former health secretary
who left the government six months ago, has been offered jobs with at
least five companies with links to the health sector
NHS
patients face humiliating treatment- whatever happened to Dignity?
Thu 6 Dec 2007- Hospitals are still failing to treat people with
dignity and respect as complaints reveal patients left unwashed, in soiled
bedding and in humiliating open-backed gowns, the Healthcare Commission
has said.
UK
among Europe's worst for cancer funding and cancer deaths
Tue 4 Dec 2007- The UK is lagging behind "nearly every other"
European country when it comes to investment in cancer services and has
some of the poorest survival rates for the disease.
Ward
cleaning is reassurance spin admits Alan Johnson
Fri 30 Nov 2007- The £50m a year that the labour government
is to spend on routinely deep cleaning hospital wards is being spent to
reassure the public rather than as a provenly effective way to tackle
hospital acquired infections like MRSA admitted Alan Johnson the Health
Secretary.
NHS
must keep taking the tablets- Financial Times Editorial on labour's costly
private sector U turn
Mon 19 Nov 2007- The Financial Times last week criticised labour's
health services incompetent U Turn. Health Direct reproduces
the Editorial.
Private
sector role in pioneering healthcare scheme to be slashed
Tue 13 Nov 2007- A pioneering £700m a year labour government
scheme to buy surgical treatment centres and diagnostic services from
the private sector is set to be more than halved by ministers.
Labour
tries to move 18 week hospital waiting promise goalposts
Fri 9 Nov 2007- Ben Bradshaw is trying to break the labour promise
that no patient should wait more than 18 weeks from seeing their GP to
completing their hospital treatment as new figures confirm that they will
fail to keep their word.
Only
44pc recall hospital choice watchdog finds
Wed 31 Nov 2007- Further evidence that the Labour's "choice"
policy is struggling as a means of driving reform in the National Health
Service has come from the latest Healthcare Commission survey of how far
it is being offered to patients.
Ministers
bury bad news report on MRSA, C Difficile superbugs since May
Wed 24 Oct 2007- Once again Health Direct learns
that labour's ridiculous health targets are resulting in many NHS patients
having an early death and or unnecessarily pain. The Financial Times discovered
that there is a direct correlation between be occupancy rates and incidents
of patients contracting MRSA, C Difficile and other superbugs.
James
Purnell fake photo- new labour spin controversy
Mon 1 Oct 2007- James Purnell, the Culture Secretary, came under
increasing pressure over a fake photo last night, after two Labour MPs
revealed they planned in advance for it be altered. The MPs, who featured
alongside Mr Purnell in the doctored photograph, revealed that they had
discussed how he would be merged into the shot after he failed to turn
up for a photocall on time.
Stalinist
Brown's superbug plans ignore scientific evidence claims Lancet
Fri 28 Sep 2007- Labour government plans for tackling superbugs,
such as MRSA, have been condemned by a leading medical journal for not
being based on scientific fact. The Lancet said there was little evidence
to support hospital "deep cleans" or short sleeves for medical
staff as recently mentioned by Health Direct.
Stalinist
Brown bounce wanes on public services says another poll
Fri 21 Sep 2007- Labour's "Brown bounce" in the polls
has receded as far as public services are concerned, according to polling
by Ipsos Mori.
Ben
Bradshaw is still confident of achieving 18 week target
Fri 14 Sep 2007- Ben Bradshaw was forced to defend the incompetence
of his Department of Health this week after a detailed analysis by the
Financial Times found that fully a quarter of the population would have
to wait longer than the basic 18 weeks between referral by a GP and treatment
which labour promised.
NHS
to miss 18 week treatment waiting times targets- by the proverbial country
mile
Mon 10 Sept 2007- The National Health Service is set to fall
well short of its target of ensuring that no one waits more than 18 weeks
from seeing a family doctor to completion of treatment, latest official
figures predict.
Measles
cases triple with no backup MMR vaccine stocks
Fri 31 Aug 07- Parents are being urged to give their children
the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab before the start of the new school
year after an unprecedented surge of measles cases was recorded over the
summer holidays.
GPs
given ultimatum to open at night and weekends as DoH bullies BMA
Tue 21 Aug 07- Having disastrously fouled up the GPs' service
contract last year the Deptartment of Heath is now aggressively bullying
GPs to work weekends again. Family doctors have been warned that unless
they agree to open at evenings and on Saturdays, private companies will
be contracted to take over their practices.
Private
surgery deal shows Labour hypocrisy
Wed 8 Aug 07- A London hospital is to become the first in Britain
to privatise all surgery, prompting charges of "rank Government hypocrisy"
from supporters of the NHS. Kingston Hospital, in south west London, is
to hand over control of its operating theatres to a private firm under
a 10-year contract which has alarmed staff.
Hypocrite
Stalinist Brown cuts £50m from drugs rehab budget
Wed, 1 Aug 07- The flagship labour government scheme for treating
drug addicts faces swingeing budget cuts of £50 million. Plans to
slash total funding by more than 12 per cent, outlined in an email leaked
to The Sunday Telegraph, come less than a fortnight after Stalinist Brown
tried to show off his anti-drug credentials by signalling his desire to
reclassify Cannabis from Class C to the more serious Class B. The Conservatives
accused the Prime Minister of hypocrisy.
MTAS
disaster- Labour's botched NHS plan
Fri 27 Jul 07- The Medical Training Application System (MTAS)
junior doctors appointment fiasco still produces fury in the health profession.
Why? And how did labour's defective system get passed in the first place?
Hospital
cases treble since labour's extended drinking pub hours laws
Thu 19 Jul 07- Overnight visits to hospital emergency departments
for alcohol related problems have trebled since the introduction of new
licensing laws, according to a scientific journal the Emergency Medicine
Journal. The EMJ has published research showing that significantly more
people have needed hospital treatment for alcohol-related issues since
pub hours were extended in November 2005.
Cynical
Stalinist Brown cut budget for English hospitals- but kept Scottish health
budgets
Mon 2 Jul 07- Gordon Stalinist Brown quietly slashed by a third
this year’s hospital building and equipment budget in one of his
last acts as chancellor. Prompted by the tightness of the public finances,
the new prime minister, who has placed the NHS as his “immediate
priority”, cut the capital budget of the English NHS for 2007-08
from £6.2bn to £4.2bn. The move could delay the labour government’s
hospital building and reconfiguration programme in England.
Stalin
Brown's new Health Secretary Alan Johnson signals a union friendly approach
Fri 29 Jun 07- Stalin Brown's appointment of Alan Johnson as
the new Health Secretary appears to signal a more union friendly approach
to the management of public services and possible disappointment for companies
looking to offer healthcare services.
GPs
have no confidence in Patricia Hewitt
Fri 15 Jun 07- Family doctors delivered an overwhelming vote
of no confidence in the labour Government's handling of the NHS yesterday.
GPs accused ministers of "wasting a golden opportunity" to transform
the health service by "squandering millions of pounds of taxpayers'
money".
NHS
trusts fail on waiting times as more than half wait over 18 weeks
Fri 8 Jun 07- Less than half of NHS patients are receiving hospital
treatment within the labour government's flagship waiting time target
of 18 weeks, new figures revealed. Only 48% of patients in England are
treated within 18 weeks and 12.4% have to wait more than a year for treatment,
according to figures published by the Department of Health.
Private
slow down expected as NHS prepares for Gordon Stalin Brown
Tue 29 May 07- Less emphasis on the use of the private sector
and a slow down in market based reforms could be the hallmark of Gordon
"Stalin" Brown's premiership for the NHS, according to a review
of health experts by Health Direct.
Hewitt
battles for survival in Commons after day of criticism over MTAS flawed
dreadful mess
Thu 24 May 07- The health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, battled
for her political reputation, if not her survival, yesterday in a packed
Commons debate on a Tory motion of no confidence. It came at the end of
a day which featured severe criticism from a high court judge over the
junior doctors debacle, and angry scenes at the annual conference of NHS
midwives
Doctors
MTAS online application system may be ditched in another Hewitt U turn
Wed 16 May 07- Channel 4 interviewed the Secretary of State for
Health, Patricia Hewitt over the crisis surrounding the appointment of
thousands of junior doctors. The new Medical Training Application Service
(MTAS) was heralded by the government as an 'agent of change', designed
to establish a fairer, more transparent system for recruiting the next
generation of specialist medics. But for months now it's been ridiculed
within medical circles for effectively deselecting some of the brightest
junior doctors.
Health
Direct asks did tony "purer than pure" bliar save the NHS?
Fri 11 May 07- With the long overdue announcement that tony bliar
is finally to stand down as our Great Leader, Health Direct asks did he
save the NHS in 24 hours? Our taxes went up to pay for extra funding for
the NHS- indeed total NHS spending went up 124%. The question is then-
has the service doubled in value/ productivity or service availability
and the answer is clearly no.
Tony
Bliar's NHS legacy- Health Direct reviews 10 years of wasted opportunities
Fri 4 May 07- In the week that Tony Bliar celebrates his 10 years
in charge of the NHS, Health Direct along with the political parties looks
at what damage he has done to our national treasure. The three main political
parties have come out fighting over what 10 years under a Labour government
has meant for the NHS.
Labour
cuts are squeezing life out of NHS- RCN
Tue 17 Apr 07- The NHS is having the "life squeezed out
of it" by cuts imposed because of deficits, says the UK's nurse leader.
Dr Peter Carter, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, warned
the NHS was at risk as wards are closed, jobs lost and services slashed.
"The situation is so serious that the progress we've made could soon
be reversed or, sadly, lost altogether."
Labour
voting areas get most PFI NHS cash
Fri 13 Apr 07- Questions have been raised about hospital building
projects as it emerged 85p out of every £1 spent has been invested
in Labour areas. Many hospital build projects have been funded through
PFI. Official figures showed that of the 47 hospitals built since 1997,
33 served areas represented by a Labour MP. That compares to 10 in Tory
and two in Liberal Democrat territories.
Hewitt's
home births promise is premature, warn Tories
Thu 5 Apr 07- Labour's promise that healthy women who choose
to can have their babies at home was undermined yesterday by fears of
a shortage of midwives and lack of funds. Patricia Hewitt, the Health
Secretary, announced that from 2009 all women would be able to choose
where they had their baby - in hospital, in a midwife-led unit or at home.
But the Conservatives said there was "no substance" behind the
plans and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said that the plan would
need an extra 3,000 midwives.
Reckless
NHS recruitment blamed for cash shortage
Wed 28 Mar 07- NHS planning has been a disastrous failure, leading
to an uncontrolled boom in the workforce followed by a bust in budgets,
a report by MPs says. The health service set out in 1999 to recruit 20,000
more nurses by 2004 but hired 67,878 — 340 per cent over target.
It also recruited twice as many GPs as planned and 69 per cent more health
professionals, such as physiotherapists.
MPs
expose lack of control over NHS billions
Thu 22 Mar 07- A devastating insight into financial mismanagement
at all levels of the NHS- from Labour ministers down to hospital bureaucrats-
is provided by a committee of MPs. The report by the all party Public
Accounts Committee exposes how billions of pounds of taxpayers' money
is being poured into a health system with inadequate financial controls
and low levels of accounting expertise. The MPs conclude that NHS structures
are so inadequate that the Department of Health has no idea what the effect
of last year's total deficit of £570 million is having on patient
care.
Hypocrite
Brown bitten over his private dental work
Tue 15 Mar 07- The chancellor has been accused of spurning the
National Health Service by paying hundreds of pounds for routine dental
work to a private dentist known for his celebrity clients. Gordon "Brother"
Brown had root canal work done by Mervyn Druian, who runs a surgery in
north London. He charges up to £650 for the procedure, compared
with a standard NHS cost of £42.
Doubts
over bid to charge foreigners for NHS care
Fri, 9 Mar 07- A fresh drive to charge foreign nationals, including
illegal immigrants, for National Health Service care has been announced
by John Reid, the home secretary - but well ahead of the health department
being able to say how that will work in practice. Mr Reid announced pilot
schemes to be run in three unidentified trusts in which hospitals and
GPs will be able to check patients' eligibility for free treatment against
data held by the Border and Immigration Agency. Labour still claims that
from 2008 all foreign nationals will have to have identity cards with
records held on a national database.
Why
the NHS's finances will never add up under bliar's crooked books
Thu 1 Mar 07- A short letter published in the Telegraph this
week highlighted the contradiction inherent in the Labour Government's
attempts to improve the cost-effectiveness of the NHS. NHS hospital surgery
is paid for on an ill thought out tariff basis that could cripple the
health service.
Barking
Bliar's latest drive to cut waiting times for NHS operations
Tue 20 Feb 07- Tony Bliar yesterday stepped up the drive to define
his legacy by declaring that he wanted to see "the framework"
in place to ensure that by the end of 2008 no one waits more than 18 weeks
for an operation after seeing the GP. The target- originally announced
two and a half years ago implies an average wait of eight to nine weeks.
How he intends to achieve this breakthrough without providing any extra
money was not explained.
Bed
closures healthy sign for NHS, says Patricia Hewitt
Fri 9 Feb 07- Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, was criticised
yesterday for claiming bed closures were a sign of "success"
as new figures showed NHS trusts will end the year more than £1
billion in the red. The scale of the health service's financial crisis
emerged as Miss Hewitt delivered a presentation to the Cabinet on NHS
"reconfiguration"— plans which will lead to the closure
of dozens of maternity units, casualty departments and community hospitals.
Only
9% want medical treatments decided by MPs
Mon 29 Jan 07- The public wants politics left out of treatment
decision, says survey. Decisions on NHS treatments should be made by clinicians,
public representatives and managers - and not politicians, according to
a MORI poll for the NHS Confederation. Asked which groups people felt
should decide on the availability of NHS medicines 70 per cent said clinicians.
Just 9 per cent thought MPs should make judgements, while 6 per cent thought
councillors should be involved.
Bliar
effect is hurting Labour a new ICM poll confirms
Thu 25 Jan 07- Declining public trust in Tony Bliar is dragging
down wider public support for Labour, according to a Guardian/ICM poll
published this week. It shows that the Conservatives have secured a lead
in policy areas that once helped Mr Blair win three commanding general
election victories.
Labour
accused of omitting research that shows public sick of spin
Fri 19 Jan 07- Labour was accused yesterday of glossing over
criticisms about its performance made in a public opinion poll. A 21-page
document on the poll's findings, published on the Cabinet Office website
as part of Tony Blair's policy review, revealed concerns over state interference
in people's lives. But the Conservatives claimed that almost 90 pages
of the more critical findings by Ipsos MORI had been "deleted"
from the text.
Labour
"rising star" Andy Burnham promoted to tackle NHS reforms
Tue 9 Jan 07- Andy Burnham, the health minister responsible for
delivery and quality, was pitched into the heart of the battle over the
labour government's health service changes last week as he took over responsibility
for system reform, following the departure of Lord Warner.
Public
mistrust of labour's statistics remains high
Thu 4 Jan 07- Seen as curmudgeonly bearers of bad tidings, statisticians
are rarely top of anyone's Christmas card list. As the joke goes, a statistician
loves to work with numbers but lacks the personality to be an accountant.
Yet those who can bring themselves to cast aside their trademark gloom
can identify positive trends in 2006: the economy is growing, alcopop
consumption is declining, we are recycling more, and we are giving more
to charity.
Labour
leader defends hypocritical charges over NHS closures in her constituency
Tue 2 Jan 07- Cabinet minister Hazel Blears has defended her
decision to take part in a protest over plans to close part of a hospital
in her constituency. The proposals for Hope Hospital in Salford, Greater
Manchester, are part of the controversial NHS shake up throughout the
country. Ms Blears, Labour chairwoman, said: "My first and foremost
job is to represent Salford and the people of the area." It is very
rare for a minister to directly oppose labour government policy.
The
sad end to the National Health Service occurred when
A
private firm is awarded total control of NHS hospital in final erosion
of National Health Service
Wed 27 Dec 06- The first NHS hospital to be put under the total
control of a private company was announced last week by the Department
of Health. In a final erosion of the health service's role as sole provider
of healthcare for NHS patients, labour ministers have awarded a five year
contract to manage the new Lymington New Forest Hospital in Hampshire
to the Partnership Health Group, a partly owned subsidiary of Care UK.
Doctors and nurses will be seconded from the NHS to work alongside staff
employed directly by PHG.
Patricia
Hewitt's U turn as she breaks her NHS finance promises
Wed 13 Dec 06- The NHS in England has been told it must achieve
a £250m surplus next year. The service ended the last financial
year £512m in deficit, but Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt had
pledged to balance the books this year. However, the latest predictions
are that the NHS will have a £94m shortfall this year. In January
and again in November, Ms Hewitt told the Health Select Committee she
would take "personal responsibility" for bringing the NHS out
of deficit this financial year.
Bliar
still thinks that his reforms will improve NHS
Thu 7 Dec 06- Tony Bliar has defended his "changes"
in the NHS, and predicted that they will lead to better patient care.
In a speech to the NHS Confederation, he called on managers and doctors
to sell reforms to the public in England. "The best is yet to come
with more lives saved, stopping more pain and distress".
Labour
continues to pay the price for it's NHS cutbacks and closures with the
voters
Tue 28 Nov 06- The public remains deeply sceptical over the government's
ability to improve public services and the economy, according to the latest
findings from Ipsos Mori's public delivery index. A mere 19 per cent of
adults believe the National Health Service is getting better, against
46 per cent who believe it is worsening. Just one person in 100 believes
the NHS will get better over the next few years, against 13 who believe
it will get much worse. (Which proves the adage that you can fool some
of the people some of the time- but eventually people will see through
the spin and lies.)
Hewitt
defends extra NHS cash for Labour voting areas
Wed 22 Nov 06- Patricia Hewitt sparked new controversy over NHS
funding last night after insisting that it was "absolutely right"
that spending per head on health care was at least 35 per cent higher
in many Labour areas than wealthier Tory ones. The Health Secretary told
MPs that people in more prosperous areas had the "good fortune"
to be in better health and as a result needed less allocated for their
care.
Asked
by a Tory member of the health select committee, Mike Penning, if it was
fair that people in her Labour constituency of Leicester West received
£1,300 per head in NHS spending, compared with £960 in his
Hemel Hempstead seat, she replied: "I am satisfied that funding allocations
are fair. I believe that reflects the very real differences in health
areas, in the prevalence of disease between our two constituencies.
Another
lying labour health minister- Rosie Winterton- a brief biography by Health
Direct
Fri 10 Nov 06- Following on from Health Direct's brief biography
earlier this week of the Lying Lord Warner we thought that it would only
be fair to do likewise for the Minister for Health in the House of Commons.
Rosalie Winterton, known as Rosie Winterton, was born on August 10, 1958
in Leicester and she is the Labour member of Parliament for the South
Yorkshire constituency of Doncaster Central. She became a Minister of
State at the Department for Health in June 2003 and in January 2006 her
responsibilities were changed to Health Services.
Commons
misled by another Labour Minister over NHS tattoos answer
Thu 9 Nov 06- The Department of Health has apologised for misleading
MPs by giving incorrect figures on tattoos removed on the NHS. Health
minister Rosie Winterton said in October that 187,063 tattoos had been
removed last year. Some experts later estimated this could have cost £300m.
But the department now says the figure was a mistaken estimate and that
the true amount was not known. The error was uncovered during a debate
in the Lords and condemned by Tory Lord Tebbit as "extraordinary".
Labour's
lying Lord- Baron Warner health minister- a brief biographical overview
of his "achievements" by Health Direct
Tue 7 Nov 06- Norman Reginald Warner- Baron Warner (PC) was born
on 8 September 1940 and is a Labour member of the House of Lords. One
of "Tony's Cronies" he was created Baron Warner of Brockley
in the London Borough of Lewisham on 29 July 1998 and has been a Minister
of State at the Department of Health since the summer of 2003. He was
appointed to the Privy Council in June 2006, and was sworn in on 19 July
2006- coincidently the hottest day in British history.
Labour's
Health Minister admits lying- Lord Warner lies to Parliament
Mon 6 Nov 06- A Labour minister has admitted that he misled parliament
about paying for the use of life coaches in Whitehall departments. "I
didn’t tell the truth over paying for life coaches", admits
health minister. Lord Warner, the Labour health minister, was forced to
apologise after falsely denying that his department was employing psychologists
to mentor senior staff.
Labour
support at lowest level since Thatcher's last election victory
Wed 25 Oct 06- Support for Labour has dropped to its lowest level
in almost 20 years with the Conservatives opening up a potentially election-winning
10-point lead, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today. Labour
has the backing of only 29% of voters, equal to its lowest-ever level
of support in a Guardian/ICM poll - recorded in May 1987, a month before
Margaret Thatcher won a third term.
Only
14% of voters think the money invested in the NHS since 1997 has been
well spent, against 72% who agree that "a lot" has been used
badly. Even 58% of Labour voters think the extra money has been misspent.
As a result only 25% of voters think that the NHS has improved since Labour
came to power in 1997, against 30% who think it has got worse and 39%
who think Labour has made little difference. When one reads yesterday's
blog is it any surprise that Labour gets the bird?
NHS
cuts twice as likely in Tory and Lib Dem voting areas
Tue 24 Oct 06- Following Health Direct's lead on Sept 25, 2006
NHS
closures rigged away from Labour voting constituencies and the Times
last week: Oct 16 Hospitals
in Tory seats are 'targeted for closure' the Sunday Telegraph has
now come to the same conclusion: that hospitals in Conservative and Liberal
Democrat constituencies are more than twice as likely to suffer from NHS
cuts as hospitals in Labour voting seats.
NHS
does not know how many jobs axed in recent cutbacks and closures
Thu 19 Oct 06- The newly appointed chief executive of the National
Health Service admitted on Tuesday that he did not know how many jobs
would be lost this year as a result of budget cuts and reorganisation.
David Nicholson was challenged on the impact on jobs of English NHS trusts
plunging £523 million into the red at a press conference called
by the Prime Minister to highlight health service reforms. "Out of
touch" bliar claims "only a few hundred" NHS jobs were
axed.
Hospitals
in Tory seats are 'targeted for closure'
Mon 16 Oct 06- Health Direct warned last month that NHS
closures rigged away from Labour voting constituencies,
now the Times has come to the same conclusion: Community hospitals that
lie in Conservative or Liberal Democrat constituencies will bear the brunt
of the Government’s closure programme, reigniting accusations of
political interference in the NHS.
The Times
has learnt that seven times as many community hospitals have closed or
are under threat in constituencies held by opposition MPs. There are 62
closed or at-risk hospitals in Conservative constituencies and 8 in Liberal
Democrats seats, with 11 in Labour areas.
NHS
direct result- Cameron 2 Brown 0
Thu 5 Oct 06- Health Direct is pleased to report that at long
last the Conservatives have produced a positive set of proposals for the
future of the NHS. Coming hard on the heels of brother
brown's bonkers plan for the NHS at last week's Labour
conference, it looks as though politicians are finally waking up to the
plea of millions of voters for a proper health service.
Brother
Brown's plans for the NHS are bonkers
Wed 27 Sep 06- One word sums up Brown's big idea for the NHS-
bonkers. When a local hospital is closed by Labour's managers with no
right for politicians to intervene, ask who is accountable? On Monday
at the Labour conference, Brother Brown raised the idea of hospital closures
being removed from the labour politicians with the introduction of yet
another layer of bureaucrats taking the blame.
NHS
closures rigged away from Labour voting constituencies
Mon 25 Sep 06- Last week saw the outcome of consultations over
£40 million worth of NHS cutbacks and closures in Gloucestershire.
Labour voting Gloucester sees new hospital facilities and Labour voting
Stroud saw it’s maternity hospital remaining. Lib Dem voting Cheltenham
saw the closure of it’s maternity, vascular surgery, urology and
gynaecology departments with the aim of closing the A&E department
as well as the closure of Delancey Hospital. Conservative voting Tewkesbury,
Forest of Dean and Cotswold constituencies see the likely closure of their
local hospitals in Winchcombe, Dilke and Lydney. Coincidence? Health Direct
doesn't think so.
Hewitt
claims private companies' role in NHS healthcare is 'to be set locally
'Wed
20 Sep 06- An end seemed in sight to the era of big, centrally negotiated
contracts between private healthproviders and the government yesterday
when Patricia Hewitt said patients, primary care trusts and family doctors
would decide the extent of private sector involvement in the National
Health Service.
Labour
targets NHS hospital cuts away from marginal constituencies
Fri 15 Sep 06- Labour may be trying to target hospital cutbacks
in areas where rival parties have seats, the Conservatives claim. The
Tories have seen leaked emails detailing meetings between ministers and
Labour party officials. Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said there
also seemed to be a deliberate attempt to cut fewer services in Labour
constituencies.
Labour
conceals NHS criticism by NAO of NPfIT
Mon 21 Aug 06- Labour faces allegations of trying to undermine
the independence of the National Audit Office after it successfully toned
down the findings of an inquiry into the £12 billion NHS computer
system. Documents released last week show how key passages in the NAO
report were changed after interventions by Department of Health officials.
These included removing warnings about the difficulties of creating computerised
records for every patient in the country.
Extra
billions for NHS largely wasted by Labour-
Tue 15 Aug 06- The massive increase in government expenditure
on the NHS has not resulted in anything like the level of improvements
in the service which might have been expected, according to a study from
independent social-policy think-tank Civitas. Total public spending on
the NHS in England has increased from £44.9bn in the first year
of the NHS Plan (2000-01) to £76.4bn five years later (2005-06).
This represents an increase of just over two thirds in cash terms (70%).
In spite of this, according to James Gubb, author of The NHS and the NHS
Plan: Is The Extra Money Working?, 'service improvement has in too many
areas resembled a country stroll, whereas expenditure has increased at
a sprint'.
You
have neither God nor Love on your side as 6 Chaplains are sacked to save
money
Thu 10 Aug 06- Health Direct paraphrases the Thompson Twins'
song title as Labour's NHS closures and cutbacks policy reached new depths
of despair with the announcement that the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals
NHS Trust is to sack it's team of six chaplains purely to save money.
Hewitt
visits cutbacks anger and ignores Kidderminster effect.
Tue 25 Jul 2006- Health Secretary Patricia
Hewitt was visiting Gloucestershire amid widespread anger at NHS cutbacks.
About 500 health jobs and 240 hospital beds are threatened as the county's
three PCTs and NHS provider try to claw back a £40m deficit. Last
Saturday, thousands of health service workers and union members marched
through Cheltenham in protest. Ms Hewitt visited Cirencester hospital
on Tuesday as part of a nationwide tour of health services. She tried
to justify the cuts as she has already given her backing to closure of
in-patient facilities in Fairford and Tetbury. The savings are part of
moves to reduce an NHS deficit across England, which has reached £512m.
Using
18 pieces of legislation, this Government has taken a sledgehammer to
our rights
Mon 17 July 2006- By way of a change, with a "little light
reading" Health Direct highlights the excellent Rory Bremner's Opinion
article in the Sunday Telegraph. The parallels between Labour’s
lying incompetence with managing the voters’ security and freedoms
and also the health service is the other sorry reason for Health Direct’
readers’ attention.
Waiting
times- NHS patients still face long delays for treatment
Thurs 13 July 2006- Half of NHS patients are waiting longer than
the Government's 18-week target for treatment after seeing their GP. Some
people have waited more than two years before receiving treatment, a Department
of Health study found, but the department said this involved only 1 per
cent of patients. The figures come from a study of patient "journeys"
in eight pilot areas to look at whether a series of government targets
is delivering faster treatment times.
Waiting
times up as DoH publishes latest figures
Mon 3 Jul- The latest figures from the Department of Health show
waiting times rose in England. On inpatient waits, the number of patients
waiting more than 13 weeks rose by 600 to 198,600 between April and May
2006. However, year on year the number fell by nearly a quarter (23 per
cent).
NHS
reform falters as Labour ministers pull advert
Sat 1 Jul- The sense that the Labour government is losing its
grip on plans to reform the National Health Service gathered momentum
yesterday as ministers pulled a procurement notice inviting the private
sector to bid to purchase NHS services in the face of all-out opposition
from unions. Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, and Lord Warner, minister
for NHS reform, said there had been "drafting errors" in the
advertisement.
Last
brick in the wall for the new look NHS health insurance
Tue 20 Jun- The decision by the Department of Health
to open up the purchasing of NHS care, as well as its provision, to the
private sector amounts to the last brick in the wall in the Labour government's
construction of the new-look health service.
NHS
Trusts feel the impact as PFI and Payment by Results (PbR) processes collide
Sat 10 Jun-
Health Direct repeats the analysis by HSJ below of the current conflicting
Labour strategy for "saving" the NHS as it eloquently explains
how the Payment by Results (PbR) system of financial planning one year
at a time conflicts with the up to 30 year planning cycle that the Private
Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts which are drawn up by the Treasury
and bind new health service facilities:
"Imagine
buying a house for a family with four children. Over the next few years
you know you will need a lot of space to accommodate noisy teenagers.
But in 10 years’ time your needs are not so clear cut: children
may leave, elderly relatives may come to stay or you may be on your own.
Your income is also uncertain and not under your control: your boss has
just refused a pay rise to reflect your high accommodation costs and says
you can have the same as everyone else." PbR
v PFI NHS conflicts, more
"Half-baked"
NHS reforms could harm patients, says think-tank
Wed
7 Jun- Patients could suffer from reforms to introduce choice and
competition in the NHS unless the government gives a clearer commitment
to establishing a full-blown market for the supply of healthcare, according
to a leading think-tank.
Labour's
targets are triggering NHS staff bullying
Wed 17 May-
The "target ethos" in the NHS is adding to a "survival
of the fittest" culture where bullying is common, doctors leaders
have warned. The British Medical Association says one in seven NHS workers
has been bullied by colleagues. The organisation is calling for "zero
tolerance" of bullying in the NHS.
Voters
turn against Labour's NHS cutbacks and closures
Fri 12 May-
Local opposition to NHS reorganisations provided the catalyst for single-issue
party candidates standing in last week’s local elections. GP Dr
Jacqueline Gunsell was elected to Kirklees council on the Save Huddersfield
Health Campaign ticket. She was one of three candidates standing in protest
at plans to move services from their local hospital in Halifax.
NHS
pay deals add £7bn to black hole in public pensions
Mon 1 May-
Overspending on National Health Service pay settlements has deepened the
black hole in the Government's public sector pension plans - by £7
billion. Taxpayers will have to cover the cost of the enormous shortfall,
caused by a Whitehall "miscalculation" as the Labour Government
last week admitted that the overspend on new contracts for general practitioners,
nurses, consultants and health workers was £610 million.
Angry
RCN nurses drown out health minister
Thu 27 Apr-
Infuriated nurses stopped Patricia Hewitt in her tracks yesterday as they
interrupted her speech and demanded their voices be heard. The Health
Secretary, who was addressing the Royal College of Nursing conference
in Bournemouth, had been met by more than 2,000 stony faces, a sea of
white and yellow campaign T-shirts, and a welcome somewhere between cool
and frosty.fd
Health
deficits are symptoms of a deeper failure
Wed 19 Apr- Tony Bliar once remarked that Labour's
record spending increases and reform were the last chance for the National
Health Service. If they did not work, the prime minister warned, waiting
in the wings were politicians who would dismantle the NHS. The reality
is somewhat different. There is no ideological difference between Labour
and Conservative. The real difference, in Rumsfeld- speak, is that Labour
ministers know what they don't know while the Conservatives don't know
what they don't know.
Bliar
pushes health reforms amid cash crisis
Thu
13 Apr- The Labour government on Wednesday announced changes to the
structure of the NHS as Tony Blair and Patricia Hewitt brought together
health chiefs to discuss the cash crisis affecting the nation’s
hospitals.
Gordon
Brown to blame for NHS crisis- new poll finds
Mon 3 Apr- Gordon Brown is being blamed for the financial crisis
in the National Health Service, which has resulted in hospitals laying
off staff and closing wards, according to a YouGov poll for The Daily
Telegraph. His credentials as prime minister-in-waiting are being undermined
by a growing impression that he is not spending enough on the health service,
and his own personal popularity ratings are falling.
Wed
15 Mar- A suspicious silence is blasting out of Whitehall. We hear
about the National Health Service (NHS) in deepening financial crisis;
we know its chief executive has quit; we read the hospital wards are closing
to save money – but no minister is explaining why. Scanning the
headlines, it is reasonable to conclude that Tony Bliar’s NHS “reform”
programme is sinking – and that, soon, someone will have to bring
this sorry adventure to an end if financial crisis is to be averted.
Wed
1 Mar- A report of a joint study by the Healthcare Commission, the
National Audit Office and the Audit Commission warns that "Without
clearer leadership from Departments there is a risk that the Labour Government's
target to halt the rise in obesity in children under 11 will not be met."
The report investigates the strength and efficiency of that part of the
delivery chain that aims to reduce obesity in children between the ages
of 5 and 10.
Wed
15 Feb- Tony Bliar has broken another manifesto promise as his MPs
voted last night to ban smoking in all pubs, restaurants, private clubs
and most workplaces across Britain by the summer of next year. Ironically,
care homes and hospitals will be exempt.
Mon
6 Feb- Tony Bliar admits that billions poured into the NHS have not
made it the world class service he promised. He reveals that where people
live still affects the kind of treatment they get.
Fri 3 Feb-
Health campaigners and doctors insisted more money was needed if the Government
was to succeed in meeting its ambitious pledges to improve NHS services
in the community. Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said a new generation
of modern, NHS community hospitals would be created in efforts to provide
more care to patients closer to home.
Mon 30 Jan-
Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, will call for the end of the "handout
culture" in the NHS this week and demand that financial management
be put ahead of clinical objectives. Under the new financial regime, health
trusts will sink or swim on their ability to attract patients under a
system of payment by results that threatens the income of poor performers.
Thu 26 Jan-
Labour government targets and badly costed pay schemes are largely to
blame for the financial problems in the NHS, chief executives believe.
Eighty-four per cent of respondents to HSJ's survey agreed with the statement
that the government was trying to dodge its own culpability for the financial
problems by blaming it on a small number of poorly performing trusts.
Mon
16 Jan- Health Direct is copying below the House of Commons Health
Select Committee's conclusions and recommendations on the Labour Government's
new set of proposals for the NHS and health care in the UK. "Hugely
disruptive, appalled, extremely concerned, illogical, false economy and
flawed" are just some of the comments by the Labour dominated committee
Mon 9 Jan-
A new 'bribe' to encourage GPs to take up practice-based commissioning
will doom the whole policy to failure, according to the leading pressure
group for GP commissioning. The National Association for Primary Care
said the new nationally set financial incentive will mean PBC will 'sink
before it has even got going'.
Fri 6 Jan-
The Labour government's promise to get the maximum wait for a non-emergency
operation on the National Health Service down to 18 weeks by 2008 is ambitious.
The 18 week process involves moving patients through three stages. From
the initial visit to the GP, the patient has to go to a first outpatient
appointment, then through any diagnostic tests that are needed and finally
on to the operation itself once a decision to admit has been taken.
Mon 2 Jan-
Most patients in England gain a historic new right this week - to be treated
in a private hospital at National Health Service expense. The arrival
of "patient choice" - the right to choose, initially from at
least four hospitals, and by 2008 from any hospital prepared to meet NHS
standards and prices - is a symbolic moment in the Labour government's
endeavour to use market forces to drive up health service performance.
Fri 30 Dec-
A survey by leading cancer information charity CancerBACUP has shown wide
varieties in the services offered by Regional Genetics Centres testing
women for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast cancer genes. The CancerBACUP survey
shows: * Up to 9 month wait for first appointment with geneticist in some
Genetics Centres
* Women waiting up to 2 years to find out if they have breast cancer gene
in some centres
* Only half of UK genetic laboratories testing 100% of BRCA genes
* Variety of approaches to consent and communication with women on retesting
Wed 21 Dec-
Tony Bliar's pathetic deal on the European Union budget has thrown the
Government's future spending plans in Britain into jeopardy, it emerged.
Treasury officials confirmed that the agreement hammered out by the Prime
Minister in Brussels, which saw Britain pledge to hand back around £10
billion of its rebate over seven years, would have a direct impact at
home on health and educational services.
Mon 12 Dec-
At least three strategic health authorities have partially suspended "payment
by results", a cornerstone of the Labour government's NHS reforms.
The authorities covering Hampshire, Surrey, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and
Buckinghamshire say they fear the payment system will further destabilise
hospitals and NHS purchasers that are already in financial trouble.
Thu 8 Dec-
Tony Bliar has recalled Paul Corrigan, one of the architects of the Labour
government's supplier market in healthcare, to be his health adviser in
Downing Street. The move is a sign that the prime minister is deeply worried
that no one in the Department of Health appears to be able to keep a full
grasp on the complexity of the government's health reforms.
Wed 23 Nov-
Labour Ministers are being blamed for shortages as Britain is facing a
serious shortage of flu vaccine less than a month after ministers assured
the public that it had enough supplies to inoculate everyone at risk from
the virus.
Fri 11 Nov-
The Labour government's policy on primary care provision has become 'fatally
flawed' because of poor handling, a poll of primary care trust chief executives
suggests. More than three quarters of respondents to an HSJ survey agreed
with the statement that 'a badly communicated policy has now become a
fatally flawed policy due to government panic'.
Mon 7 Nov-
A fast- track scheme to provide drugs on NHS runs into a funding row.
Health ministers have approved a fast-track system to decide which new
drugs the National Health Service should provide, but have found themselves
locked in a row over funding.
Mon 31 Oct-
David Blunkett is in trouble again, for holding shares in a biotech firm
that offers paternity tests (a special interest of his). Is the minister
as unlucky in business as in love, or is he unfit for office? .
Tue 25 Oct-
The Labour government has failed to make a decision on whether foundation
trusts will have to offer patients the choice of a different provider
for a scan if they have been waiting over 20 weeks, according to the Foundation
Trust Network.
Wed 12 Oct-
The NHS: a national health sham- Britain's National Health Service (NHS)
as the public used to know it— a centrally managed, publicly owned,
government- financed health system— is no more. The end of the NHS
was confirmed last week by health secretary Patricia Hewitt, who pledged
to continue with plans to introduce market-based contestability (the Government's
byword for competition) into primary care, despite strong opposition from
many health workers.
Fri 6 Oct-
Britain has again been accused of breaking its promise not to poach nurses
from developing countries. Percy Mahlati, deputy director-general of the
South African department of health, said the National Health Service was
continuing to recruit nurses indirectly through private agencies.
Thu 29 Sep-
The Labour government has been defeated in a vote on its plans to expand
use of the independent sector for NHS patients. A fierce debate ended
with a vote by show of hands which officials said was so close that a
card vote was required.
Mon 19 Sep-
UK cancer patients are waiting more than two years for some vital cancer
treatments to become widely available on the NHS, says cancer information
charity CancerBACUP.
Thu 25 Aug-
The troubled national health helpline NHS 24 has not yet "turned
the corner", Scotland's health minister Andy Kerr said yesterday
as an action plan to save the service, including the setting up of new
call centres and an internet site, was laid out.
Tue 23 Aug-
Not content with measuring the performance of doctors and hospital managers,
the Department of Health has begun publishing statistics on the output
and perceived "slant" of the journalists writing most frequently
about the condition of the NHS.
Fri 19 Aug-
Every doctor's surgery in Britain will next month be sent official instructions
on how to handle an outbreak of bird flu as ministers step up their preparations
for a global pandemic that, if the worst fears are borne out, could kill
up to 50m people.
Tue 16 Aug-
The government's blueprint for primary care trust reform was this week
slammed as 'incoherent', 'ill thought out' and 'an incredible way to treat
important organisations' by senior NHS managers and policy analysts.
Fri 5 Aug-
The government fight to end hospital waiting times is far from over, warns
King's Fund report. The government now needs to broaden its focus from
driving down waiting times to ensuring that the NHS delivers equal treatment
for patients in equal need of it, according to a new report from the King's
Fund.
Thu 4 Aug-
Five years ago the government launched its latest NHS Plan. The 10 year
programme of reform set out a series of measures to overhaul the health
service. Has the prescription worked?.
Mon 25 July-
The side-effects of targets need to be monitored to ensure they do not
lead to distortions in patient care, according to Healthcare Commission
chief executive Anna Walker. Speaking at the launch of the commission's
annual State of Healthcare report, Ms Walker said NHS services were improving,
but mainly in areas where there were targets or a national service framework.
Tue 7 June-
The number of patients waiting for an NHS operation in England has risen
by almost 6,000, new figures show.
Tue 24 May-
Hundreds of patients were inappropriately removed from a trust's waiting
list at a time when staff were under pressure because of a lack of capacity,
an independent review has found.
Wed, 11 May-
Patients should be refused treatment because of their age in some cases | 
