The following are my articles for False Economy
2012-01-06: Lansley is scared to publish his own department’s list of risks to the NHS
The government must come clean and publish the full NHS Risk Register
2011-11-29: NHS hospital cuts that undermine Cameron's claims
While Cameron claims he isn't cutting the NHS, the Department of Health admits it is cutting payments to hospitals.
2011-11-17: How privatisation drives NHS pensions into deficit
Transferring staff to the private sector won't just cut employees' future pensions. It will increase the government’s liability for existing pensioners
2011-11-10: Circle has been unable to make a profit. How will it turn around a hospital?
Key questions for Circle Health, the private firm taking over a Cambridgeshire NHS trust
2011-11-04 Don’t be fooled by these pilot personal healthcare budgets
Pilot personal healthcare budgets offer acupuncture, massage and smartphones. The real thing may turn out to be very different indeed.
2011-10-28 NHS Bill lets GPs restrict treatment. So what happens if you can’t pay?
If Andrew Lansley were to make patients pay for blood tests there would be uproar. The NHS Bill lets him pass this decision to GPs.
2011-10-23 By undermining social solidarity, health bill puts NHS at mercy of EU competition law.
Cross-subsidies in the NHS help ensure a comprehensive service. Any Qualified Provider will end that.
2011-10-07: Health bill will let more GPs say "buy my services or go without"
A simple amendment to the health bill will stop GPs offering private treatment in place of free care.
2011-09-23 How to respond when your MP says "I am deeply committed to the NHS"
Richard Blogger rebuts the claims of pro-NHS bill MPs
2011-09-12 Health Bill: let's see some real transparency
The Lords must inject some real transparency into the NHS Bill.
2011-08-31 Why are our private hospitals so shy of lucrative markets?
If English private hospitals are unable to compete for lucrative US health tourists, how will they compete for far less profitable NHS care?
2011-08-25 Private providers are banking on this government driving patients into their hands
80% of healthcare is public, 20% private. What will the balance be at the next election?
2011-08-18 Department of Health guidelines falsely inflate NHS costs
Incorrect government figures make private sector treatment appear cheaper than the NHS.
2011-08-11 How Lansley is fiddling hospitals' Payment by Results system
[Not my title]
Hospitals are being paid less to provide treatments - in plain English that's a cut.
2011-07-27 NHS bill will put hospital governance in the hands of unskilled volunteers
I'm a Foundation Trust governor who – like my colleagues – volunteered to help my hospital serve the community. The NHS bill will give us huge financial responsibilities for which we are unqualified
2011-07-18 Clegg promised no back-door privatisation of NHS. But new white paper opens the front door
The government's Open Public Services white paper takes us a step closer to NHS privatisation
2011-07-12 Health reforms place even greater burden on an inspection regime that can't cope
The government claims its inspectors will make sure "qualified providers" of healthcare really are qualified. But even now the system is struggling to cope.
2011-07-07 Instead of fixing social care, Lansley broke the NHS
Social care in England is broken – and the Health Secretary has delayed every opportunity to fix it
2011-07-01 The unaccountable super-quango at the heart of NHS reforms
Instead of liberating the NHS, Lansley wants to liberate government from the NHS. The result is a new super-quango.
2011-06-23 NHS bill set to create new layers of bureaucracy
The new structure has more organisations and layers than before.
2011-06-17 Lansley clings on to NHS "Any Qualified Provider" policy - but it's in a mess
The Government's response to the Future Forum's recommendations on NHS reform is disappointing but not unexpected.
2011-06-10 Health reforms will cut quality rather than boost productivity
The recent rise in waiting lists are a sign of things to come.
2011-06-02 Lansley's plans increase the risk of a Southern Cross-style crisis in the NHS
One leading healthcare provider has worrying parallels with the struggling care homes company
2011-05-26 What the health bill means for hospital trusts – and why it matters
Much criticism of the health bill has focused on GP commissioning. But changes to hospital trusts pose a threat to the NHS too.
2011-05-19 Government has ignored every opportunity to "pause and reflect" on health bill
There have been many opportunities for the government to "pause, listen and reflect" on the Health Bill. It's ignored them all.
2011-05-12 'Efficiency savings' for the NHS, cuts for everyone else
Isn't it about time the government dropped the words "savings" and "reinvest" and instead be honest?
2011-05-04 Government blueprint spells it out: consultants' and nurses' jobs will go
McKinsey report says NHS "efficiency savings" require frontline job losses
2011-04-27 NHS "efficiency savings" achieved by cutting cataract and hip ops
As rationing increases, GPs are referring more patients to the private sector
2011-04-20 Cameron’s NHS "ringfence" makes Thatcher's increases look generous
David Cameron claims that NHS funding is ringfenced and will increase in real terms. He's wrong on both counts.
Drop the Bill
Article on GP Commissioning.
Blogging for UKUncut
2011-11-03 What "Any Qualified Provider" means for the NHS Aany Qualified provider is how the government will privatise the NHS.
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