Friday, June 27, 2008

Nurses, the new capitalists

Lord Darzi has announced that nurses are to run the NHS, but not in the traditional matron fashion, but as businesses.

While nurses often make reasonable managers (I include myself in this...), as I have repeatedly said the NHS should be a public service not a private company. Darzi seems as intent on privatisation as the ultra right-wing Doctors for Reform. These people are supposed to be in a caring profession, yet they are championing private profit over public service.

What is more, without democratic control of local services, the NHS is rudderless and providers will gravitate to the easy pickings in the market of healthcare, cherrypicking easy, profitable work at the expense of people in need.

And what really hacks me off is that crap that the right-wingers come out with. They can spout anti-tax and privatisation of health care, but to be paid for out of taxpayers money. THEY DON'T EQUATE!!! Either you have a for-profit system based on insurance, such as the US and leave millions to suffer and die or you have state provision through taxation and universal coverage, such as Cuba and er... the UK until 20 years ago.

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