In an amusement arcade today pushing two pences in to one of those machines with lots of levels pushing coins down various levels, with coins at each level falling down the side guaranteeing that on matter how much cash you put in you are guaranteed not to get your monies worth reminded of the NHS under Labour. Loads of levels of bureaucracy, each pushing cash back and forth before eventually pushing it down to the next level with less and less cash getting to the bottom meaning you will never get out what you put in to the NHS no matter how much cash you put in.
Just a thought.
8 comments:
Sounds like a metaphor for the NHS full stop...
Labour's mistake was to think that the system could be made to work, especially if you give targets and throw money at it, but the NHS will not work much better than it does now without massive reform.
So the extra 30,000 extra doctors and more than 80,000 additional nurses now what Liberal Democrats describe as bureaucrats?
Bob, would you like me to provide a list of all the hospitals that have closed in norfolk since the last election (kellings, Wells, North Walsham, Cromer, West Norwich, Cranmer House, and more )? Perhaps I could list for you all the people who have died of hosptial acquired infections in the last 12 months in Norfolk (17 in one hospital)
The point I am making Bob, is that for all the investment, things have not got better.
Perhaps you have another explanation for the massive reduction in waiting times for almost every form of surgery.
If hospitald close, bureaucrats get the sack. You cannot tell me that nearly 120,000 additional doctors and nurses represents a worse service. You are just parroting out your party's propaganda. Yes you can list all the people who have died as a result of hospital acquired infections... but try putting alongside the list of those whose lives have been saved by shorter waiting times, cardiac and cancer surgery being performed more quickly rather than dying on waiting lists or being treated in corridors.
Labour are spending nearly twice as much ADDITIONAL money on health services, not pen-pushers, than the Lib Dems even promised in their fantasy wish list manifestos in 2001 and 2005.
Now, when you come back, tell me how you would propose to measure efficiency in health services without relying on a market mechanism. That I would be really interested in reading... if I ever remember to come back here.
Presumably Bob we are imagining all the things that I listed earlier ?
No, but they are small parts of a whole picture. If you list, as you said you could, the names of all of those who have died of hospital acquired infections, I challenge you to list the 43,000 people nationally who are still alive because of earlier cancer interventions. Or the names of those who now get life-saving cardiac surgery which means death from heart disease is down by 12% nationally.
Anyone can play with statistics and we can bat individual hospital situations back and forward til we are blue in the mouth. There are two hospitals closing within 5 miles of my house... but they will be replaced with a new modern hospital between the two which are closed, and six community hospitals which will be able to carry out routine hospital work and minor surgery.
Bed numbers are down... but you can have a hip replacement and be back out in the community in four days now, not the three weeks it took before. I had my bloody appendix out when I was 14 and was in hospital for three and a half weeks. It is now virtually an overnight job.
What you have failed to do is answer the questions I have asked you. Perhaps your silence speaks volumes.
Bob, you are so lucky to have community hosptials. nearly all the 8 in Norfolk are to close because labour allowed them to get in to debt over a number of years but then damanded that they clear their debt in just one year. A warped sort of logic that says I will allow you to dig a whole slowly but then you must fill it in an instant. Result ? Norfolk's community hosptials go to the wall. Of course you are getting new facilities near you, after all in areas where there are lots of Labour MP's and marginal seats Labour are spending a fortune. I think this point has already been discessed at length else where several times.
I appreciate your comments and enjoy your blog, but Bob, I don't think we are going to come to a consensus on this.
Bob Piper writes: Perhaps you have another explanation for the massive reduction in waiting times for almost every form of surgery.
At my local surgery, at least, the reduction is because I am prevented from booking an appointment more than two days in advance. As such, it's impossible for the surgery's recorded waiting times to be more than two days. This looks a great statistic, but because doesn't reflect the actual waiting time it could be much worse. Not to mention that it's bloody inconvenient for me and no doubt many others!
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