District General Hospitals; a hangover from the past...

If you live in the UK, you will know the NHS. For those who do not, let me give you a very quick lesson in its history...

The NHS came to life on 5 July 1948 and since then has provided healthcare for the people of the United Kingdom; free for all at the point of delivery.

Aneurin 'Nye' Bevan, Health Secretary at that time, made it clear that all people should have access to good healthcare, stating that the health service would be available to all and financed entirely from taxation, which means that people (to this day) pay into it according to their means. It was a hugely ambitious plan that met serious opposition but Nye Bevan did not give in and the NHS is a fact. (history lesson done) But, it would seem, not for much longer...

Over the years, many changes have taken place and (as with everything) some of those were good, some of those were not so good. However, the most damaging changes are being affected right now and they will see the end of the NHS that we all know and love. To say that this is all caused by the current Tory government is understandable but incorrect. Some of the current reforms were started under the previous Labour government. The Tories are just taking it to the next level...

In 2007, Labour health minister Alan Johnson approved plans for the largest restructuring of District General Hospitals (DGHs). This led to a loss of a third of consultant-led maternity units, reducing the total from 12 to 8 in Greater Manchester, and was part of a downsizing operation carried out nationwide. Sir David Nicholson, appointed by Tony Blair in 2006, stated 'The wicked issue of maternity services had to be tackled.' Trade Unions refused to organise any action against the attacks and instead promoted the review process as a means to reverse the closure plans. Labour MP Hazel Blears was allowed to pass herself off as an opponent of the closure of the local (Salford) maternity unit, while ensuring that this was reduced to accepting a downgraded service; stand-alone Midwife-Led Units (MLUs). This was promoted as a significant concession,smoothing the path for the bulk of the cuts to proceed.
Local health chiefs and clinicians backing the plans to close A&Es in Greater Manchester have shown their intent in the paper, “The Greater Manchester Case for Change.” It dismisses DGHs as a hangover from the past.

Right now, services provided in your own local hospital are at risk of being removed, or are at risk of being overstretched due to more patients being send through to it (due to closures at other hospitals). Right now, people are fighting to stop this from happening.
Right now, services are open for competitive tendering, meaning that private companies such as Virgin (the one from the plains and trains) Healthcare will take the most profitable services, leaving the rest for the NHS. Right now, people are fighting to stop this from happening.

Fifty-one thousand people marched in Stafford against the closure of their services, sixty thousand people signed a petition in Salford to retain their services. Up and down the country people are coming together to help fight the backdoor privatisation of the NHS. Their fight continues, every day, and they battle more than just government's plans; they battle the biased reporting in the media (supposedly left-wing media included). It is difficult these days to open a newspaper without finding an article about the dire situation of the NHS, yet there is very little to no covering of the actions being taken by the public to save services. It seems that it is impossible to get your voice heard in the national media unless you are part of Julie Bailey's group 'Cure the NHS'.

I will leave you with the following words:

The NHS; it is Aneurin 'Nye' Bevan's legacy and our inheritance

Pointless... Solutions

We have all had a situation, at work or at home, where we thought we had the 'ideal' solution to something that was bothering us... And we have all experienced the feeling of thinking afterwards 'that was not the best idea'. But you, like me, have probably also experienced our idea being criticised without being given a different approach... So, we have all learned (the hard way) that it is pointless to criticise someone's work without giving some, suitable, alternatives... How else can you come up with an idea that will make the difference.

And so I was thinking about our government; they are facing some serious issues and are trying to come up with the most suitable (if not perfect) solution. What are the issues they are trying to overcome? Let's make a short list of the obvious ones:

• The country is in serious financial debt (9 times the annual income)
• The NHS is too costly (and the costs are increasing year on year)
• All forms of benefits are costly (and there is no room for navigation)
• The country is in a continued recession
• Child poverty has increased
• Homelessness has increased

This government has come up with several solutions, some on a local level but mostly on a national level. I could bore you to death with listing them here but I won't because you are most likely already aware of, if not affected by, them. Besides, there are far cleverer people (Steve Walker, Mike Sivier and Johnny Void to name but a few) than me who have already addressed these.

What I will say about these 'solutions' is this: 'They (the solutions) have divided the country into two categories of people; the 1% of people that are getting richer and the 99% of people that are getting poorer. People who, through no fault of their own, are in a situation they do not wish but cannot get out of due to this government.'

(Recognise the fellow on the left?)

And now, seeing how I have criticised the government's 'solutions', I had better come up with some, suitable, solutions... And, yes, I am well aware of the fact that (some of) these might not be popular with some (or most).

Looking at the list of issues above, they all seem to have one commonality: money... Or, more precisely, a lack of money... An increase in money is, therefore, most welcome. We all know that lending money to fill a hole will only leave you with a bigger hole, so that cannot be the solution. Then what? How about government closing all the tax loopholes... That would give this country an extra (conservative estimate of) £30 billion... Per year, year-on-year... Not enough to deal with all the issues but every 'little bit' helps, as we all know. Government could abolish the entire welfare state, that would save a significant amount of money but would only increase issues such as child poverty, homelessness and healthcare. And I like living in a welfare state so now I enter the world of true controversy: TAX... Please, bear with me, I promise it will only get stranger from here on in... And I will make some 'enemies' on the way, I am sure...

Government could tax all income, 100%. Oh, stop your moaning, I can already hear it: 'that would leave me with absolutely nothing, how am I supposed to pay the bills, feed the family, get to (or look for) work'... Please, bear with me and I will explain:

I am talking about government taking our total income and giving everyone - regardless of social standing, employment status or position on the proverbial ladder - the same amount of money per week to spend. At the same time, government levels rent for all living accommodations (both private and social) and lowers tax on food and essentials as well as equalising the prices for gas, electricity and water, regardless of which company you are with or where you live. This way we all get an equal piece of the pie... For those people who have their own business; government can set aside a specified amount of money per week to deal with purchasing...

Thank you for sticking with me this long... I just have one more 'solution' for an issue that affects us all, more than we would like to believe: this government... My solution?