Ha ha ha, why do they do it?

[noel]

I'm actually astonished she's still PM. I thought common decency at having made the biggest own goal in many years, turning what should have been a thumping majority into a minority government, would have resulted in either her resigning or the shadow 1922 committee sharpening the proverbial knives. Reading in the local Lancashire Post that a £104million NHS contract has been awarded to Virgin Care, for child health services. The tories assault on our NHS continues.

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https://www.lep.co.uk/news/health/lancas...-1-8903287

[admin]

It's sad to see the NHS being run down ready for privatisation. I wonder how many MPs have links to private health care companies?

[Dave H]

I agree admin, the pride and crown of GB and the envy of the rest of the world the N.H.S being systematically starved of funds to line the pockets of private companies and their shareholders helped by misguided Tory ideology who think that they can run things better...

[noel]

I'm rather naive, I had no idea until recently that private companies could get NHS contracts, when I went for an eye screening recently as part of diabetic care, that was by a private contracted company too. Cannot trust the government with the NHS but I'm not sure labour when in power did similar?

[Peter Harris]

I think the attack on the NHS is not from the Tories but the plane loads of foreigners landing every day and being taken to the nearest hospital for treatment at UK expense. Stop that happening and you will save billions. I expect it is either too hard to have people prove they have paid their dues, or that the UK has put laws in place so the foreigners can challenge the NHS for asking such questions. I wouldn't be surprised.

[Bill]

I think you're a bit 'out' with your figures. 'Deliberate Health Tourism' costs an estimated £300m, compared to a budget of about £91 BILLION- approximately 0.3%. Not to be sniffed at, granted, but of course, the government have now tightened up procedures to minimise misuse. I would suggest that the main problem facing the NHS is not foreigners but chronic under-funding, although the former are an easier and more convenient target to the likes of the Daily Mail.

[noel]

One thing's for sure if all the foreign doctors and nurses left the NHS we'd be in a right mess. All the surgeons who have monitored my wife after her surgery have migrated to this country usually from an Asian one. It's a far more complex issue than one we can solve. I don't get why there is chronic underfunding, have there been cutbacks, or have costs escalated beyond increases in funding? The admin side certainly needs looking at, seem to be a lot of highly paid senior bods?

[Dave H]

Noel,(!) In my lifetime and probably yours the population of the British Isles has grown considerably but the contributions we paid had not kept pace, (2) We, that is our generation, have needed more medical attention because we are living longer owing to advances in medical science, the 3 score years and 10 has risen considerably,(3)As you rightly say there are far more highly paid senior bods than they had back in the early days of the Matron and a few admin staff running a highly efficient system, to sum up, all in all, succesive goverments have not had the political will to increase our contributions to this valuable service for fear of it being unpopulare with the general public,(4)Wales and Scotland allowed free prescriptions etc, so we can say the bad goverment control, more population increase in aged people owing to excellent medical sience improvements, then of course the private sector baying at the heels of all political persuations to take over any puplic sectors in the so called name of efficiency not withstanding their own desires for profit and then Wales and Scotland getting preferential treatment...

[noel]

Good points there Dave and of course after the age of 60 ? we no longer pay national insurance, though I'm sure there was an increase in that by the last government.
There is a massive response here to the award of the child care contract to Virgin basically it covers things such as school nurses and the difference between Virgin's tender and the NHS was said to be minimal. It does tell you the way our politicians think.

[Dave H]

Nibbling away at the edges Noel until the major part is diminished enough for a major takeover, it stinks...