Editorial — The Guardian view on the NHS cash boost: pay for it with deficit spending

Stephanie Kelton figures prominently. Short read.

The Guardian — Editorial
The Guardian view on the NHS cash boost: pay for it with deficit spending

Jack Peat — Some of the best healthcare systems in the World are publicly funded, the NHS just isn’t one of them

Donald Trump today used the NHS as a reason not to push for Universal Health Care in the US.

The President pointed to demonstrations yesterday in the UK with thousands of Brits taking to the streets to protest the poorly run system.

But even though Trump might have a point about the UK, he doesn’t have a leg to stand on in regards to publicly funded health care systems.

Indeed, many people have pointed out that some of the best healthcare systems in the World are publicly funded....

The London Economic
Some of the best healthcare systems in the World are publicly funded, the NHS just isn’t one of them

Jack Peat

Joe Mellor — The beginning of the end? Huge NHS cuts across England

Looks like Theresa May is all talk and plans to pursue Thatcherism.

The NHS has been thrown into even more turmoil, after plans have been revealed to conduct huge cuts across England’s NHS.

According to the BBC, who have been able to access a draft planning document, the NHS will see ward closures, cuts in bed numbers and alterations to GP and A&E care across the country.

Many will see these cuts as the end of free health care as we know it, as services are cut and shortfalls may well be picked up by private sector care providers.
These plans are supposedly required to achieve efficiency savings of around £22 billion by 2020-21.…

Apparently the Her Majesty's government is running out of money (snark).

But there is apparently also a lack of real resources. The UK is not training enough medical personnel for the size of the population. But that is arguably a function of not creating enough financial incentive to recruit, against because of a funding shortage.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals, believes “we are at breaking point: he said: “We’ve got this absolutely massive financial deficit which is the biggest in NHS history and then at the same time … we’ve got major shortages in key areas like nurses and doctors which effectively are meaning people are having to shut services.

“We are seeing more and more pressures on staff trying to run harder and harder.”

The idea is apparently to privatize NHS so that private companies can raise rates, increase financial incentives for recruitment, and meet the demand, preventing market failure while providing substantially better care for the country. Good luck with that.

The London Economic
The beginning of the end? Huge NHS cuts across England

Joe Mellor

Joe Mellor — Huge wait for Ambulances after privatization

Putting ambulance services into the private sector has descended into a “total shambles,” it has been revealed.

An investigation by the NHS is going to be launched into a £63.5 million four year contract after patients have been left waiting for hours for their ambulance to arrive.…

Privatization not the solution to all problems?

The London Economic
Huge wait for Ambulances after privatization

Joe Mellor