NHS reforms WILL damage Britain (read description)

* The Conservative / Lib-Dem alliance say their planned NHS reforms will promote “excellence” in British healthcare and “liberate” the NHS, but David Cameron’s own brother-in-law, consultant NHS cardiologist Dr Carl Brookes, said “hospitals will be disadvantaged” by the proposed plans, while GP and Tory MP Dr Sarah Wollaston said Tory plans are like throwing “a HAND GRENADE into the NHS”. Forcing the NHS to become more “competitive” will not increase choice, will not improve treatment quality and will not enhance efficiency, here’s why… 1. Competition in the NHS will not increase choice or treatment quality When members of the public ask their GPs for help, it’s highly debatable whether patients really want GPs to offer a range of options to choose from, or whether patients simply prefer to be given the best quality treatment; but in fact the proposed NHS reforms will not even offer the increased choice the Con-Dems say they will! If voted through, the planned reforms will mean the abolition of fixed national tariffs for the provision of health services, will mean that an NHS regulatory body (called Monitor) will intervene to ensure that GP surgeries award contracts according to free-market principles, and mean that GPs will only be able to refer patients to providers who’ve been awarded those contracts. GPs will not be allowed to support local NHS hospitals if a private company offers a cheaper service, as this would be regarded as anti-competitive behaviour under …