The NHS is a service not a shrine,” Mr Streeting said. “It is judged by how well it serves the public.”

Remember Frank Field, who was told by Blair to "think the unthinkable" - and did? I admired FF very much. He was later marginalised. That why I think Wes Streeting won’t get far, sadly. His hands will be tied.

I think Labour are far more likely to get the NHS updated and performing more efficiently that the Tories, who despite their claims, want it to disappear. We are all paying more for private treament as evidence of this.

As for Australia- you get what you pay for as per private medical insurance- the more you pay in the more you get out, which can be quicker appointment but also access to unneccesary procedures and even surgery. I know this because I have two siblings, one who pays for costly private insurance, and one who doesn't and gets the cheapo level Medicare. They are both elderly and have serious health conditions but my sister gets tested more and has had several surgeries which didn't work, my brother is in reasonable health and doesn't hold with the 'quacks' who have harmed my sister's health by over prescribing drugs that made her very sick.
In Australia it is all about choice. That's what the Tories delude us in to thinking that's what private health care provides, but it is still on top of free-to-access care we have already paid for.

It is true that doctors and nurses are better paid in Australia though, and have better working conditions so I would say private health care benefits the workers more, but not necessarily the patients.

We can have more NHS staff without compromising the NHS- it just needs some commitment, common sense and a bit of vision, I'm not sure we have enough of that though.

Can’t believe the Red Book issued to mothers of newborns is still in paper form
You couldn’t make it up 🤦🏼‍♀️

Casdon do you not understand that this document will be reviewed/ignored/overturned when Labour is in power? It is not set in stone. It is like BJ’s promise of 40 new hospitals.
Very tenuous.

That’s not how it works ronib. This mandate is what the NHS will work to for the year commencing 1st April 2024. Whenever the general election is, Labour will not rewrite the current year very detailed NHS planning guidance, that would be an impossible task. Besides which, you still haven’t said why you asked for evidence related to the current government and then ignored it!

petra

Can’t believe the Red Book issued to mothers of newborns is still in paper form
You couldn’t make it up 🤦🏼‍♀️

There was a trial of online red books around 2015...no one was interested in signing up...even the tech savvy young mums preferred a hard copy...so the plan to move online was ditched

I see unnecessary nhs spending day in day out....its just accepted .....you can call it out ...but it doesn't change anything

Personally, I thought the red books were a waste of time. My children's books have hardly anything in them. Nevertheless, I've still got them and looking at them brings back memories of their births, which wouldn't be the same if they were online. If my children had ever needed serious medical care, I doubt if the red books would have been used.

LOUISA1523

I see unnecessary nhs spending day in day out....its just accepted .....you can call it out ...but it doesn't change anything

For example?

Urmstongran

Remember Frank Field, who was told by Blair to "think the unthinkable" - and did? I admired FF very much. He was later marginalised. That why I think Wes Streeting won’t get far, sadly. His hands will be tied.

How do you know that?

West Streeting doesn't seem to like the NHS very much. I think you need to bring the staff with you to reform an organisation, not treat them as an obstacle or an enemy, as he seems to be doing.

Casdon were the 40 new hospitals also in a planning document? Forgive the cynicism….. it will be interesting to take stock next year and see how many of this government’s proposals come to any kind of fruition.

ronib

Casdon were the 40 new hospitals also in a planning document? Forgive the cynicism….. it will be interesting to take stock next year and see how many of this government’s proposals come to any kind of fruition.

Have you read the mandate?

The Red Book (it's various colours) is digital in this area. But some mothers can't access the internet, & the midwives are very careful to ensure these patients have a paper copy & printouts are filed in it so the mother (& her baby) aren't disadvantaged.

growstuff yes
Also David Oliverin The BMJ
The “40 new hospitals” pledge was always a mirage.

ronib

growstuff yes
Also David Oliverin The BMJ
The “40 new hospitals” pledge was always a mirage.

Well, yes, that was obvious! Were they from the mouths of the Johnson or Hancock mirage-makers? (I can't remember which.)

I confess that I'm not a huge fan of Wes Streeting, but I wasn't aware that he'd made any ridiculous promises. Digitisation and using less qualified staff to "solve" the shortage of GPs (which are two important subjects of the mandate) will, I suspect, go ahead.

I think the only way to sort out the NHS properly requires cross party action coupled with some of the best business managers/entrepreneurs in the country plus the goodwill of the population in general to be prepared for any resulting cost - imo very unlikely.

Last full policy document from LP on NHS.

labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Mission-Public-Services.pdf

I was in NHS as a casualty Sister (that is what it was called then) when the first reform Salmon he was a caterer happened and for subsequent reforms
Each time the costs of changing letterheads ,Signs etc amounted to a considerable amount of money let alone uniforms etc
When the NHS was conceived it was really to maintain a healthy nation by treating and preventing at a early age
also so that other people with health problems in the community could be treated.
People respected the NHS
WE can now treat many more conditions the advent of the contraceptive pill,as one example and many more sophisticated treatments . We can debate whether the NHS should treat every condition forever everyone having a diferent opinion
Failed atendances happen again and again I wonder what the total would be in one day in the whole of the UK these all have a cost ,7.8 million a year 650,000 per month We have a much bigger population in 1948 was 22,408,00 population in 2024 67.85 million which just highlights some of the problem
In the early part of my career I had never heard of Eating Disorders,ADHD,Autism and many more conditions now defined and treated.

It needs reform and I am sure there is some genius out there who has an answer but they are all afraid of upsetting the population which I cant understand as they upset most of us on a daily basis no matter which party it is.

quite frankly the nhs has always been good for me and i have nothing but praise for them.
i know things are difficult and have been for some time but i wouldn't trust labour to get it sorted.

My only hope is that whoever gets voted in at the next election will be allowed the time to make any changes they are proposing. The conservatives have made an absolute mess during their tenure and there is no way a quick fix will sort it out.

Australia pays better wages to doctors and nurses but the customer has to pay every time they go to the doctor and also for scripts. Public hospitals are free and ok for real emergencies but not so good for ‘elective’ surgery. Most of us pay for private cover because you have to unless you want to wait forever. A dear friend was told their pancreatic cancer treatment was non urgent and had to wait 6 months!

He is right. I am glad someone has Bern reading my posts on GN.

But, he will face HUGE opposition from the die hards who think it is a sacred cow. It needs a complete rethink.

And, where will the money come from?

Beeping phone been not Bern.

kittylester

He is right. I am glad someone has Bern reading my posts on GN.

But, he will face HUGE opposition from the die hards who think it is a sacred cow. It needs a complete rethink.

And, where will the money come from?

So many people claim the NHS needs a complete re-think (even though it's had two major reorganisations since 2010) but they never come up with how a re-think would work. Anybody who has ever experienced "re-thinks" at work knows how disruptive these rethinks are and cause endless problems for years. It's not uncommon for the re-thinks to go full circle and organisations to end up where they started.