Wed 10 Mar 2010
Nurses for Reform in Daily Telegraph
Posted by Helen Evans under NHS Failure, NHS Reforms
1 Comment
Yesterday I had an article published in the Daily Telegraph, discussing the future of the NHS and how NFR believes the process towards achieving better healthcare for the UK population should be started.
To read to complete article click here.
I also urge you to take time to read the comments. It is amazing not only how people interpret what I have said differently but also how people have completely different expectations of what the NHS should be and do.
There is quite a lively debate going on over at http://www.mentalnurse.org/ scroll down to the bit entitled “Nurses” for reform in the Daily Telegraph. There is plenty of the myopic self interested twaddle you would expect from people who have grown used to sucking on the government teat for most of their adult lives but playing devils advocate for a minute how would allowing pharmaceutical companies to advertise aid patient choice? Advertising be it for cars, washing machines or hip replacements is not intended to give us information about which is the best car washing, machine or hip replacement to have it is about persuading us to buy a particular product. If i want to know which car to buy I will get a copy of What car and read the reviews, if i want to choose a washing machine i go to Which and read their best in test report. If I want to know which medication to take for a particular condition I talk to my GP and take his advice. He is the expert.
How would abolishing or opening up the RCN or GMC help. Do you mean the RCN or do you mean the NMC (nursing and Midwifery council) which is our regulatory body. The RCN is a trade union and there are plenty of those I could have joined in preference to the RCN.
Maybe a model for a new reformed NHS could be the BBC. Regulated by government, part funded by the state but not run by the state it would be accountable to the people it serves through a board of governors one of whom could be the secretary of state for health. How would that work?