Monday, July 7, 2008

BMA calls to an end to marketisation

Get rid of the market in health care, says doctors' leader (issued Monday 07 Jul 2008)

"A call to get rid of the damaging market in healthcare once and for all came today (Monday 07.07.08) from BMA Chairman Dr Hamish Meldrum in his keynote speech opening the Association’s annual conference held this year in Edinburgh."

Well said! The health care market serves the interest of a few at the expense of the many. The idea that people want to choose between a range of health care providers is simply false, people want to know that the local hospital is clean and efficient and able to treat their problem.

The claim on the HSJ website that competition improves efficiency and can be used as a stick to instigate changes is a self fulfilling prophecy. The purchaser - provider split introduced by the Tories means that health care commissioners have no direct accountability or control over services and have had to invent ways of levering change. The quick solution is to scrap the purchaser / provider split and abolish the market - Doh! (or should that be DoH???)

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