Please don't use the NHS

Please don't use the NHS

Have you all seen the Technical Guidance for the 2012/13 Operating Framework, which lists all the indicators with which the NHS in England will be held accountable over the next year? Probably not - it's boring and pretty impenetrable. Included among the indicators is a measure of how much the public have started to exercise the ‘choice’ that the Government has said is such a major plank and reason for these ‘reforms’.  The indicator in question is called ‘Trend in volume of NHS-funded patients being treated in independent sector (non-NHS) facilities.’ (so slick!) “What success looks like” for this indicator states: “Patients should have the opportunity to choose a range of providers for their first outpatient appointment, including those in the independent sector. This indicator shows [the] percentage of patients who have exercised choice, since it is likely that an alternative NHS provider was also offered to them.” In other words, a measure of success is going to be that more patients opt to use private sector providers rather than the NHS. The “rationale” for this indicator is quite explicit: “Use of the independent sector is a good proxy measure of the take-up of choice [because] use of the independent sector implies that an NHS alternative was foregone.”

In other words, folks, the Government wants us to stop using the NHS and start using the private sector. Brilliant! So public money gets paid to the private sector for what the NHS used to provide, and the 'profits' go to the private sector not to improving the NHS. If you don't like it, sign the e-petition, before it's too late.

epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/22670