May the NHS rest in peace

I trust the British people will have carefully noted the appointment of Jeremy Hunt as the new Health Secretary. This is the man who was co-author of a pamphlet that stated that

"Our ambition should be to break down the barriers between private and public provision, in effect denationalising the provision of health care in Britain."

For the next part of this post I am indebted for my information to the Guardian newspaper and I sincerely hope they do not mind me quoting from their publication.

The Guardian reports (Friday 7/9/2012) that 20 NHS trusts in the South-West of England have formed themselves into a consortium, The South-West Pay, Terms and Conditions Consortium, in other words a cartel, to initiate a system of locally negotiated pay, terms and conditions of service. The Consortium has begun its official life with an open threat to all of its employees that if they resist these moves (which the BMA have called 'draconian') then 6,000 of their 68,000 employees could be sacked.

The Department of Health's response is the one we have come to expect from our highly politicised civil service who will never fail to do their masters bidding, they tell a barefaced lie, stating that  "There are no plans to cut NHS pay. Pay agreements need to be fit for purpose." Now I trust you will recognise the complete contradiction within that short statement. There are no plans to cut pay, but if we need to we will because agreements need to be fit for purpose. This consortium has already announced plans to cut pay, or else why do they wish to enter into locally based negotiations, indeed why did the BMA refer to the plans as draconian?

The health unions, including the BMA have all said that the attempt to localise agreements is with the purpose of cutting pay rates, reducing holiday entitlement and reducing sick-leave provisions. Now we all know that the Tories have a neoliberal obsession with privatising the health service, and Hunt has admitted this with his desire for denationalisation when he tells us that denationalisation is 'in effect' privatisation. If you denationalise, you no longer have a national service, and, the Tories already have legislation in place to ensure that denationalised health boards must outsource their services to private industry. President Obama told us in his State of the Union address in January that 57 million Americans have no health insurance. The necessity for private health insurance in the UK is the next Tory objective. Remember, British public policy is inherently exclusionary, that is, our policy excludes people rather than includes them. This is seen in health, education, housing etc. I do not apologise for repeating the Tories hatred of disabled people and their continued attempts to exclude them. You see, the disabled are seen as a cost that has to be reduced as far as possible. 

The British people cannot say that they have not been warned. We are well on the way to being a carbon copy of the United States in all things. The health service is doomed and medical provision for the British people free at the point of service is also doomed. Medical provision will no longer be provided according to need, but according to ability to pay, and if you can't pay, you will die. That day is not very far off, perhaps only ten years or so, in other words if the Tories get another term in government. That is what Hunt's appointment is warning you.

In addition, you must give the Tories full marks for consistency. The solution to any economic crisis is to hammer the workers, cut their pay and conditions, extend their working day, week, year. I warn you again, these people are introducing sophisticated modern forms of slavery, and it is quite planned and deliberate. 

Your Servant

Doktor Kommirat