Wednesday 21 March 2012

NHS RIP - or just RIP'ed to shreds?

The Health and Social Care bill has been passed, the NHS as we know it is no-more.  It may not be dead, or fully privatised, but the privatisation door has now been opened.  I feel bereaved, a loved one has slipped away and gone forever.  Ok, the world will not end, but public healthcare as we know it has changed forever - and sadly it seems, probably for the worst.  As soon as private companies are involved, it all becomes about profit - and not quality, and the enevitable complexity and blame-shifting mean patients will get a raw deal, and be impossible for anyone to do anything about it.

I'm sceptical of change, I hate change, it makes me really anxious - I worry about mental health services deteriorating further, or dispappearing completely to be replaced with 'soft' alternatives.  There's no real help for Asperger people as it is, my psychiatrist was scraping around in her desk trying to find a photocopy of a local support group home page!  I also worry about my GP not sending me to the best place for help, but the cheapest place, or the place that his 'friends' own and will profit from - he struggles to understand my problems as it is, so I will have no faith in the future system.

I could be worrying about nothing of course, but the private sector has failed in health and social care before - Southern Cross, Castlebeck, and I could probably find more examples quite easily.  This is the side of privatisation the government don't want you to see.

The government claim this bill does not privatise the NHS, which I guess we should be grateful for, but it WILL mean private involvement like never before.

I'm in a state of shock really, walking the dog last I felt less certain of things - as if the world had changed, moved on, left me behind.  Nobody voted for this, it was not mentioned - we should all feel robbed and abused!  I hope sick and able people across the land will fight this all the way, even if it means more riots - we are now only a step away from a complete private healthcare system, like in the US.  And like the US, It won't be long before the poor will have to queue up in car parks and muddy fields outside huge tents to see volunteer medics, with limited places, to get the only free healthcare there will be.  No wonder Cameron enjoyed his US visit, he wants to emulate the American Dream over here!  I can't think of anything worse, American TV on every channel is bad enough!

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