News from Surrey Labour

Health service in Surrey threatened by NHS changes

One of Britain’s foremost analysts and commentators on our Health Service, Roy Lilley, warned of the disastrous consequences for Surrey’s health service if the coalition’s proposals go ahead.

Lilley a former mayor of Camberley who describes himself as a left leaning Tory was speaking to Politicos Surrey Health’s unique non party political discussion group on Friday in a panel including a local doctor generally in favour of the changes.

He said that the coalition had no mandate for reforms that essentially privatise the NHS. There was nothing about these changes is either the Tory or Liberal Democratic manifestos. The most recent ISOS/Mori Poll records that 80% of the population sees our health service as the best in the world and did not recognise a need for change of this scale.

There are 150 primary care trusts in the country offering 57 specialities a carrying out 300 functions, and hundreds of activities related to community care.”

“There is no way the general practitioners will be able to continue to do this in Surrey,” Roy Lilley said. “Many will simply disappear and be lost to Surrey,” he predicted.

He suggested that the changes would pose a real threat to the viability of Surrey’s hospitals.

“General practitioners probably in consortia will probably use private contractors for operations such as hip replacement rather than Surrey hospitals. As a result the viability of our hospitals will be threatened.”

Roy Lilley went on to point to the lack of support among doctors for the proposals.

“The General Medical Council survey found that only one in five doctors were in favour of taking over the functions now carried out by the Primary Care Trusts. The Kings Fund have predicted that the changes will cost at least £1.2billion,” he said.

Surrey’s primary care trusts already carry large accumulation of debt because Government has only funded 3% of the 5% growth rate the NHS demands. General practitioner consortia will find it even more difficult to cope with debt he predicted.

“As a result the waiting lists which Labour drastically reduced will grow again in Surrey.”

He deplored the way that the coalition continued to justify their changes by claiming there was excessive management in the NHS when the number of managers was considerably smaller than other large enterprises.

As so many of the present cabinet are Surrey MPs Roy Lilley urged people to lobby them against the plans to prevent the destruction of the NHS.

Other news from Surrey Labour

• Newly appointed Chief Constable set to speak to Surrey Labour Parties - 20 February 2012
• Surrey Heath Tories forced into climb down on community meals - 12 January 2012
• Concern grows about pressure on schools to become Academies by "ideological" Gove - 8 January 2012