tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985429043801017839.post7120470126720343681..comments2023-10-27T07:50:27.411+01:00Comments on Next Left: Save NHS Direct - the next Coalition u-turn?Tom Hampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05917325958130851128noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985429043801017839.post-68151474208282809532010-08-28T21:50:20.703+01:002010-08-28T21:50:20.703+01:00There's also the inconvenient little factoid t...There's also the inconvenient little factoid that this is simply the continuation of a Labour policy first rolled out in 2009<br /><br />http://www.smarthealthcare.com/111-pilot-09jul09<br /><br />But Andy Burnham is from t'north so that's OK then.Daragh McDowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06049701674340138205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985429043801017839.post-80126968957953670752010-08-28T20:53:22.494+01:002010-08-28T20:53:22.494+01:00I am not sure that there will be a U turn. We are ...I am not sure that there will be a U turn. We are talking about Lansley who is arrogant and bullish. Also, the public mostly think that Cameron's "we will cut the deficit, not the NHS" was a lie, so what does Cameron gain by U-turning on NHS Direct: his cover has already been blown.<br /><br />I think he will use this to prove that he is a macho state services slasher. I have always predicted that Cameron would use the Tory party conference to announce the new Tory party who will slash the state. (Basically, what the 2009 conference almost was, before they realised that the austerity message was losing them votes.) It was going to happen anyway, it is just happening a month too early.<br /><br />Expect over the weekend for the legion of spin doctors at the DoH to produce reams of data to show that NHS Direct costs too much and that Lansley is some kind of demi-god for liberating us from them. They will crush the NHS Direct campaign.<br /><br />While I support the Prescott's campaign against the closure, I think this is the wrong cause. Something far more totemic will come along in the next few months and that cause will be the game changing campaign.richard.bloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589364986804437392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985429043801017839.post-2285601888494241522010-08-28T01:09:19.067+01:002010-08-28T01:09:19.067+01:00but this is a scheme to scrapNHS direct with its n...but this is a scheme to scrapNHS direct with its nurses<br />and give the service to a call centre<br /><br />what would happened in the swine flu outbreak without nhs direct<br /><br />what would happen this weekend without nhs direct the patients willsimply turn up at A&E<br /><br />The Tories talked about changing (ie devolving to ambulance trusts) not scrappingMichael Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08702558930884262809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985429043801017839.post-78321685837416954252010-08-28T00:52:29.531+01:002010-08-28T00:52:29.531+01:00This differs from the school milk fiasco by having...This differs from the school milk fiasco by having been trailed before the election. The draft health manifesto <a href="http://www.conservatives.com/News/News_stories/2010/01/~/media/Files/Activist%20Centre/Press%20and%20Policy/Briefing%20Documents/Draft%20Manifesto/DraftHealthManifesto.ashx" rel="nofollow">says</a>:<br /><br />"We will reform NHS Direct and<br />introduce a single number for every kind<br />of urgent care to run in parallel with the emergency number 999."<br /><br />And it's in the coalition agreement, <a href="http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/409088/pfg_coalition.pdf" rel="nofollow">here</a>:<br /><br />"We will develop a 24/7 urgent care service in every area of England, including GP out-of-hours<br />services, and ensure every patient can access a local GP. We will make care more accessible by introducing a single number for every kind of urgent care and by using technology to help people communicate with their doctors."<br /><br />I think they made other references too, including to the 111 number. So we can't say they didn't warn us (there must always have been more to the policy than just changing the number, as that's not remotely worth mentioning to anyone, or indeed worth doing on its own). <br /><br />Lansley's "admission" may have happened as it did because he didn't think it was news, and was perfectly happy to discuss the policy in more detail with anyone who asked him - it's only a gaffe because nobody had noticed it was already government policy.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08867820385027297023noreply@blogger.com