Cheap Politicking on the NHS

Having received quite substantial amounts of literature through the post from my local Lib Dem councillor in Sheffield around the time of the elections, which ended in a hung Council, I’ve received some more today, so they are obviously pushing with an eye on gaining control of the Council. The latest is a leaflet on local NHS Services and how good/bad people feel they are in Sheffield, with the suggestion that Labour (who are the main opponents in Sheffield to the Lib Dems) have let the City down.

Now don’t get me wrong. I feel it is good that local people are asked for their views on a whole range of subjects, but there is a much bigger picture. This appears to be a local initiative and, last time I checked, local councils had little or nothing to do with the running of Health Services, and certainly do not take over the role of the Strategic Health Authority or the Primary Care Trusts. They don’t have any say over how the budgets are spent locally, waiting times for local GP services, availability of NHS dentists, standards in the hospitals and even closures of local wards/hospitals, all of which form questions in the questionnaire I received.

Which means it is politicking. The closure being talked about is of a ward in the Local Children’s Hospital which faces the axe. This is familiar since the closure was stalled due to protests a year ago. Protests which the Lib Dems did not play a part in. neither did the Tories or Labour or Greens. It was the local Union rep who started organising a demonstration and only actually received help in doing this from the Socialist party, who have been involved in campaigns in several areas of Sheffield so are always able (and importantly, willing) to help out with these sort of things. After it was a success of course, the Lib Dems and the other high profile parties all turned out for a second subsequent demo - funny how they never start demonstrating until it looks to be gaining public support isn't it? However, that's a side issue.

What really struck me about the literature though was the complete and utter lack of reference to the Private Finance Initiative’s which have caused so many hospitals Nationally to close or cut back on Services following the £1 billion+ deficit just over a year ago. Caused by the stupidity of handing out contracts like this one in Coventry which even Physicians are holding up as the main problem in the NHS. Of course, the Lib Dems are the same as all the mainstream parties in supporting Private Finance, the new miracle cure to all that needs rebuilding - and quite probably the cause of bankruptcy for the UK future generations, or at least a long period of high taxation to pay for poor quality services in the vastly over priced 30 odd year long contracts which there is now no escape from.

Until people start listening to the so called extreme left voices calling for Public services to stay in the hands of the Public Sector, and start supporting crucial campaigns such as the Public Services not Private profit one, then expect to see the politicians continue their petty politicking and nothing done to solve the crisis rapidly expanding across all areas of local service provision, which no amount of discussion in Council chambers will make the slightest bit of difference to.

The Scottish Stoner