NHS Rebellion in Sheffield
Last weekend I attended along with other Liberal Democrats Councillors and members our party’s spring conference in Sheffield. At that meeting there is an opportunity to debate and shape ideas and change policy on issues that affect everyday lives, but also to be that check and balance on the party’s direction and leadership.
The discussion which took place last Saturday morning about proposed changes to our much loved and well used National Health Service was timely and important, improvement in health care in the last few years have been substantial, dramatic falls in waiting times and better results in terms of treatments with people living healthier lives.
Everyone has an opinion on how the NHS can be made better; some of those opinions are well informed, some are not. But we as users, and supporters now more than every need to speak up and speak out, to say how we want to see our NHS develop in the coming years, it’s our NHS, our opinions are important and matter.
The Health and Social Care Bill currently going through parliament could see groups of GPs handed the responsibility and money £80 billion, for commissioning health care for their patients with private companies allowed to provide more services.
The debate last Saturday at our conference was a crucial one, well informed, and produced a rebellion against the coalition Government’s proposals to reorganise the NHS with members voted against reforms, calling them “damaging and unjustified”.
The result of debate forced our party’s leadership to review its stance on the health and social care bill and they now have a clear mandate to argue in Parliament for changes to the Bill.
We are not alone in having concern as to which direction the NHS is going in. Many councillors, be they Conservative, Labour or Lib Dem have serious concerns about the future direction of the NHS.
Concerns were voiced on Tuesday of this week, Dr Mark Porter, who chairs the British Medical Association consultants’ committee, explained his “serious concerns” about the thrust and speed of the bill, and feared the “NHS could be damaged by turning it into a marketplace”. The BMA also argued that there was “no electoral mandate” for the reforms as the plans was not part of the election manifestos put forward by the Conservatives or the Liberal Democrats.
Later that same day the BMA, voted at a specially convened meeting to support the scrapping of NHS reforms under the coalition governments Health and Social Care Bill, seen as the biggest in the history of the NHS. The plans have proved controversial with many doctors concerned over the pace of change and the requirement to take on a more managerial role.
Here in Northamptonshire we need as citizens, to be informed, to think about what is the shape and direction we want for our NHS. We together need to make sure that we tell our local and parliamentary politicians, how we want our local hospitals and health services to be run.
The Health and Social Care Bill is important please use you voice to help shape it, speak up and out.
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