NHS being butchered @ No 10

"We need a charrette." Arturo said.

"What's a charrette?" I asked.

"A public meeting or workshop devoted to a concerted effort to solve a problem." He responded. "And Boy, do we have a problem!! The NHS is going down the Swanee!"

"We had a rally on the 7th. Besides, Lord David Owen is still doing his best to save the NHS." I'd heard him on the BBC radio 4 'Today' programme, this morning.

Even the Royal College of Physicians is stirring itself for one mighty push to save the day. The most senior and much respected of the Royal Medical Colleges has just published the results of its survey of Fellows and Members. These are the main results:

On the question of respondents’ personal view of the Bill;

6% (525) ‘Accept’ the Bill,
69% (6,092) opted to ‘Reject’ the Bill as it stood,
22% (1,971) ‘Neither completely accept, nor completely reject’ the Bill and
3% (290) declined to give an opinion.

http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/press-releases/results-rcp-health-and-social-care-bill-survey

The results of this Royal College of Physicians' survey is in line with all the other Royal Medical Colleges.

Surely a government, with an iota of integrity, would listen to the opinions of its senior health workers when totally changing a healthcare system that was the envy of the world and has stood the test of over 60 years. Look again at the RCP survey result:

69% opted to ‘Reject’ the Bill as it stood

69% - that's the sort of majority any political party would be delighted to have! It's certainly more than the Tory Party received in the 2010 General Election.

The final results in Great Britain were
CON 37%
LAB 30%
LDEM 24%
Others 10%.

http://www.thegovmonitor.com/world_news/britain/uk-election-2010-the-final-results-are-in-30304.html

Ah Ha! So 'Boy David' Cameron's party got a measly 37%. So what gives them the right to overturn the NHS? They made no mention of it in their manifesto! They do not have an outright majority! Call this democracy!!

Then again - who says this present mish-mash of a government, containing bright blue Tories and the new yellow Tories (aka LibDems), has any integrity - or even intelligence.

Lord David Owen made a plea on the 'Today' programme for the Risk Register to be published. The Coalition has rejected this and is defying the Information Commissioner’s ruling that the register should have been released under the Freedom of Information Act.

On his blog site, Lord Owen has written the following:

Lord Owen tables motion on NHS Transitional Risk Register

Lord Owen has tabled the following motion:

Lord Owen to move to resolve that the Health and Social Care Bill be not read a third time until either the House has had an opportunity to consider the detailed reasons for the first-tier tribunal decision that the transitional risk register be disclosed and the Government’s response thereto, or until the last practical opportunity which would allow the bill to receive Royal Assent before prorogation.

If the Government table a motion for Third Reading on Monday 19 March it will be moved as an amendment to Earl Howe’s motion as follows but it is essentially the same motion.

http://www.lorddavidowen.co.uk/

Whether this last ditch attempt to *Save the NHS* from the butchery being perpetrated on it remains to be seen.

Watch this space!

'Bye'