"The NHS will last as long as there are folk left with the faith to fight for it"
Aneurin Bevan

Tuesday 28 September 2010

Ring fence, what ring fence?

We all know that there is no NHS ring fence. We know that "£20bn of efficiency savings" is actually £20bn of cuts spread over 4 years. That is not a ring fence. We can already see the effect of this cut because clinical staff are alre4ady being made redundant.

So what about the vultures, ready to pick the bones of what is left of the NHS? Of course, I am talking about the predatory private sector. HealthInvestor (advertising an event they are holding) say this:
The recession has forced Government to curb health spending, leaving an estimated “black hole” of up to £20 billion in health budgets up to 2014. Efficiency savings are likely to fall on acute care and GP services, with NHS Trusts tasked with making substantial savings and more efficient use of the NHS estate. 
 Black hole? Curb spending? If the Tories had said this at the election they would have been accused of planning cuts, but instead they lied and talked about a "ring fence". 

No comments:

Post a Comment