Trust our Primary Care Trust ● Opinion ● EWAS Labour

Trust our Primary Care Trust

Posted by Ricky in Opinion under NHS | on Sep 09 2007

Our Primary Care Trust is conducting a scrupulously fair and transparent consultation on the options for reconfiguring health services in West Sussex.

A highly political and scurrilous campaign of misinformation, orchestrated and driven by Tory MPs and their supporters on the (Tory) County Council is hijacking the process, smothering any chance of a reasoned debate or effective contribution by people of good will. The underlying, libelous implication that the PCT is just the hidden hand of a government determined to destroy local services through mean spirited heartless budget driven cuts and closures, is intended to smear government through discrediting a highly professional and independent body, the hub of our area’s health provision. Be warned Mr Loughton, Mr Bottomley and friends, your cynical manipulation of the political process will lead to ever greater disillusionment with the democratic system from which, in the end, your own legitimacy solely derives. Four out of five voters in Adur refused to participate in the last local elections. Is it surprising?

Isn’t it high time time that voters of all political opinions, or none, those who just want to improve health provision in line with medical advances and our changing needs, took back ownership of Fit for the Future from Conservative front organisations and Tory MPs?

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Comments

Andy Bray, Shoreham

Comment posted Thursday, January 03, 2008

I throughly agree with your comments about the Health Service Review - but must add a word of caution.

KWASH currently enjoys a high level of local support with local people and local the local press. EWAS [ I believe] has maintained the view that any review of Health Services must be based on identified need and not be driven purely by budget.

I feel that we should embrace the underlying concepts that KWASH was set up for but not add weight to any party political “mud - slinging” to score points against the other parties which could only be used by the local press to assist with their circulation figures.

The Labour Party locally must be ready to regain the support of the local electorate as a party which is prepared to engage, listen, and act on the views of all local people and to show all that we are the party which is willing to take decisions for the benefit of all and not just to secure votes

Ricky, Shoreham

Comment posted Thursday, January 03, 2008

Absolutely. But the high level of support has been fed - in my opinion - by the deliberate scaremongering of an unholy alliance of those, sadly, from our own side within the health service (who are) ideologically opposed to the reform program, and the Tories who are cynically fanning the flames.

The media have latched on to a high octane campaign and, in the absence of coherent, reasonable, consistent rebuttal, have co-opted it for just that reason - to sell papers.

I absolutely agree that attacking our opponents won’t advance anyone’s understanding. However, strategically, I think it’s very important to identify the myths, one by one, lay out the truth as widely as possible, and place the distortions at the door of those who are distorting.

Today’s King’s Fund funded Wanless review of progress so far, despite the plaintive tone of someone who’s realise his usefulness is past, makes painful, trenchant points: productivity is measured as value for money and the value of outcome. As I wrote in a later post, finite resources, versus demand without limit, are the inherent contradiction of the system. Trade-offs will always have to be made. The issue is, what are the best trade-offs. Specifically, what are the best ways to improve care, and to balance provision with resources, in light of our area’s needs, and the predicted evolution of treatment and demand. Not easy to explain, granted, but I believe we should get started.
As a thought, maybe we should draw lessons from how the Democrats have had to focus their stategy over the Irak War.

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Ricky

Child of the post-war baby boom. Spent childhood summers on Shoreham Beach. Came of age in the Sixties. Got on my bike in ''79 when Mrs Thatcher won, and rode-off for France and Spain. Enrolled at University in Bordeaux, learned to teach French as a Foreign Language, discovered that we are an integral part of the astonishing tapestry of European Culture, that our differences, so large to us, are invisibly small to the world outside. Found Shoreham again in 1986 and moved down permanently in 1990 with Sally where we have grown up with two wonderful daughters.