Thursday 25 April 2013

The cause of the crisis in A&E

The root cause is the misguided Blair commisioned Wanless report which massively increased GP incomes and drastically reduced their workload in particular relieving them of their previous obligation to provide out of hours cover for their patients. In effect they now work 9 to 5 for 5 days a week. If a patient becomes ill out of these hours they have two choices. Either go through the tortuous and convoluted NHS direct with its numerous delays or pitch up at their local A&E. Even if they fall ill Mon to Fri 9 to 5 there is no guarantee their GP will see them and they can still be referred to the useless NHS direct. Small wonder patients vote with their feet and go to A&E.

Wanless, knighted by Tony and  now deceased managed to cock up everything he touched. I quote from the Independent,

Although as the youngest chief executive in NatWest's history he had presided over a wave of changes, including a more professional approach to management, his had was on the tiller when losses of £90m were unearthed, and proposed mergers with Abbey National and Legal & General came to naught. This forced the share price down and allowed Fred Goodwin's RBS to table a hostile takeover bid, which eventually prevailed. All this contributed to Wanless's removal in 1999.
A year later he was a non-executive director of Northern Rock, the building society-turned-bank, and head of the audit and risk committee at the time of its collapse, leaving it owing the Bank of England £24 billion after misjudgments in the derivatives market. Following an investigation by the Commons Treasury Select Committee Wanless, as one of the most experienced bankers on the Northern Rock board, was singled out for heavy criticism, accused of failing to ensure that the bank "remained liquid as well as solvent, to provide against the risks that it was taking and to act as an effective restraining force on the strategy of the executive members".

So if he had not been the worst CEO ever of Nat West, Fred Goodwin's RBS would never have been able to take it over given it was three times the size of RBS. So no Wanless there would have been no RBS bust which the UK taxpayer is still paying for and will probably never see their money back. 

The TSC document the starring part he played in another great British bank scandal , Northern Rock . That only leaves Lloyds TSB and HBOS which he did not contribute to!

His most damaging contribution to our country was his recommendation seized upon by Tony on GP's pay and hours. He in fact produced a system that paid the average, mediocre GP more than the average more highly qualified and certainly harder working hospital consultant. It is hospital consultants who deliver health care in the UK. They do the surgery, they do the invasive procedures, they handle the difiicult drug regimes in short they do the heavy lifting.

What really worries me is that it is GPs who are now to be put in charge of the NHS. It is a clear conflict of interest. For all the cries about privatising the NHS it has been privatised since its inception. GPs are private businessmen not NHS employees. Financial scandals are sure to follow this decision to put the contractors in charge of the contracts! 

6 comments:

Mr leak said...

We have had a crisis in Norfolk, with the ambulance service, initially during the crisis they told us people were waiting three and a half hours for an ambulance,
it now turns out it was over five,
first they say one person died as a
result, now it's gone to five, next
month probably twenty five, the hospital has avery troubled history,people intimidated who makes complaints, or brings serious
errors to Chloe Smith or Anna Dougdale, we may never know how many have perished there, that's the way the culture does things,
we now have investigation, after
investigation, whats the point we
know the reasons.It is clear the
people are far from happy with Dougdale or her complaints proceedures, the question must be
how do you remove such a person when they ignore democratic wishes
of the public. the situation there
cannot be allowed to continue, who
protects the public these day's, no
one, everybody new there were departments at that hospital in chaos even smith, yet they did not
nothing just sat back and let it
happen.

Richard Stibbons said...

The NSH has become that sort of none democratic organisation, there
is no mechanisim to hold these people to account, one might say
with Dougdales performance record
her and her cronies should go, I doubt there will be any changes in
this respect, just more rediculous
investigations, and the continued
wheeling of the trollies to the
mortuary, and these rediculous demented coroners rulings, there
will be no change, there never is
hence the problem.

Mandy PCT said...

We had them in Norfolk doctors on
short term contract seld employed
many allegedly payed no tax hoping
across the water and back. Many
doctors are ruthless private business man, and the woman GP's for that matter. CROOKS

Roberta PCT Norfolk. said...

Where doctors are self employed and
under short term contract, the PCT
trust has no disiplinary powers to
deal with them, you may note these
facts in copies of our letters.This
is the positon as it stands.Where
also they are self employed we are
not responsible for contract payment policing.Or complaints against them by the general public.

Dr Gerbal said...

There's plenty of scandles at the
momement, but they are all being
covered up by Blackmail. Anna Dougdale has been givinf out leaflets in relation to fraud, doctors making ghost medical records which has become to frquent
for it's own good,The motive being to claim monies
by fraud,or silence patients making complaints. The new investigation body is a joke, they are demented
telling everyone they are unable to
deal with complaints despite the
evidence same as that corrupted HSO
there will be no change government
is covering it all up.

Roddeny Shipin said...

Very Interesting, you know to much.