Nurses for Reform Blog

This is a great piece by Dr Tim Evans on the Cobden Centre blog.  He exposes the cluelessness of George Monbiot’s Guardian article on the Tea Party movement in the USA.

Today is the day when we find out whether David Cameron really has the nerve to deliver on his promises to have a “Bonfire of Quangos” or whether this will be a PR exercise somewhat akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic where we see lots of mergers but no real changes!

NFR believes that we are at a turning point with the way that healthcare is delivered in the UK.  If the coalition government do not have the will to abolish such time and money wasting quangos as the Health Protection Agency what hope is there that they will have the courage to push through the much needed market-oriented reforms that will take the NHS from being a failing service to a more customer focused system.

This is a truly shocking story reporting the views of the Chief Medical Officer of Wales Dr Tony Jewel.  He has stated  that people should be banned from smoking in their own homes to protect children from the effects of passive smoking.

His remarks give me real cause for concern.  First, there has been a wealth of research questioning the so-called dangers of passive smoking. Second, this is a gross invasion of private property.  What does he propose is done to enforce this ban? Government CCTV cameras in everyone’s home? !

I am looking forward to reading the new paper from Civitas, reported here in the Telegraph.  James Gubb, head of the Civitas Health Unit, has researched the way that NHS Trusts work with, or avoid working with, the private sector.

This should also make very interesting reading for the government. There has been a lot of spin around the health care reform that they are planning.  This report demonstrates that they will need to be determined and focused if they are to deliver on their promises to develop a health care system that is fit for the 21st Century.