So they are not going to privatise the NHS

well who are they kidding, they have started on the ambulance service in West Yorkshire, See Here
Now I have had to use ambulances four times in the last 4 years, and to be honest the NHS were brilliant, they saved my life,
Now I know anybody who needs an ambulance couldn't give a damn who the ambulance belongs to, only grateful they have had a good team, so I think that is why they have started there, they have admitted it will cost more than our own service.
They are using as many as 13 of these ambulance in a day, and they were hoping that no one would notice.
Apparently all the ambulance will have ex NHS paramedics on board, but it was said they haven't got the good GPS systems that the NHS ambulances have, this is what worries me.

Re: So they are not going to privatise the NHS

What would people rather have in an emergency, an ambulance or no ambulance at all ? I think I know what most would say.

This is an Ambulance Service that was often under fire for not meeting response time targets and is trying to improve its performance. By doing so they are criticised by both the Unison official Ray Gray and of course the ever present posturing Labour MP, in this case one George Mudie. He it is that says "It’s privatisation by the back door without any consultation or public awareness.”

Comments like his are moronic in the extreme but I guess comforting for the patient to know that someone will be with them as soon as a show of hands at a party conference and perhaps a public enquiry has taken place.

It is also rather disingenuous to say "They are using as many as 13 of these ambulance in a day, and they were hoping that no one would notice" when actually YAS have openly said, it could call on up to 13 ambulances, each with two crew members, to cover staff shortages and that the move was to maintain emergency cover.

Regarding the 'good' GPS systems that NHS Ambulances have, don't even go there, given all the adverse publicity they have had for sometime and tragically for one family of a youngster in the local news only this week.
Suffice it to say many services are going back to the A-Z or street map methods.

Re: So they are not going to privatise the NHS

I get to use ambulances on fairly regular basis, so much so, that I now know the names of some the crews when they walk through my door. I have great respect for the ambulance crews (My Brother-in-law was an Ambulance Station Officer) and they treat me magnificently.

Re: So they are not going to privatise the NHS

Me too UJ, I haven't a bad word to say against the way they have been performing for me.

Re: So they are not going to privatise the NHS

No one would not expect it to be any other way Geoff but the OP was not about that.
It is just a shame that some opposition MP's don't spend a little time investigating everything before making misleading statements.
They were designed to spread fear and worry into people, something that they are no stranger to unfortunately.

Why politicians cannot all forget this obscene desire to cause confusion and distress and join together for the common good is beyond comprehension.

It surely is not required to have a degree in quantum physics to understand that the only way out of this mess is to have a collective go at it.

Re: So they are not going to privatise the NHS

It surely is not required to have a degree in quantum physics to understand that the only way out of this mess is to have a collective go at it.

But George matey, that is precisely what the latest attack on the NHS is planning to destroy. The Ambulance Service, like other parts of the NHS works well on a county or regional basis and is controlled by people employed in the service itself. The Government want to 'privatise' the NHS, including the ambulance service and allow 'competition' from the 'private sector' which obviously wants to make a profit. This will mean either a deterioration in the service by cutting the number of ambulances and/or crews or expanding the area which the existing crews and ambulances cover hence a deterioration in the service to the public. Arthur and I (amongst others) are vociferiously opposed to such schemes.

Re: So they are not going to privatise the NHS

I agree with you UJ, but I also agree with H we are in a mess and we have to do something about it.
But the answer is not to privatise everything, but to make it pay, sadly the rich folks of this world don't want it unless it makes a profit.
Our services must break even or just a slight profit to be ploughed back in to that service to make it better, and not ploughed into shareholders pockets.

Re: So they are not going to privatise the NHS

Wrinkley - So they are not going to privatise the NHS

I think sure as eggs they are going to privatise major parts of the NHS Wrinkley. It has already begun.
The ambulance service is a soft target, somewhat isolated and many non-emergency ambulance services are already contracted out. Will it work - yes I suppose it will (at a cost) but I believe it won't be too long before a charge is made to the public each time an ambulance is called out. Private industry will not provide the service "at cost" - they will always want a healthy profit or they won't do it - so either you will get a reduced service or increased costs which have to be found from somewhere. There are other issues surrounding insurances, professional training, etc. etc. and all these things also have a cost, which inevitably will be passed on to the user. This is not scaremongering - it makes simple economic sense.
Regarding privatisation of the NHS generally, what a lot of people perhaps do not realise is that there are very few "salaried" General Practitioners. GPs and their practices are private businesses, but the GPs are not necessarily businessmen themselves. GPs buy into a practice and the NHS pays them to provide defined services for the practice population. Giving responsibility over to GP consortia and handing over major financial control of public monies for them to choose what services, service levels we get and where they place contracts is madness in my opinion. It is giving the NHS away. This is actually where the privatisation is taking place.
To finish, just take a look at how much GP's remunerations have increased over the past few years - and they don't even provide an out of hours service if they don't want to - well they do wan't to because they are able to charge astronomic sums for doing the work they used to do as part of their job.
Even the buildings that are occupied as hospitals and health centres are privately owned and we, the taxpayer, pays rent for them - often getting further and further in debt because of it. Over the years, milliions and millions of assets have been sold off and now everything has to be rented from private landlords.
I believe it is about time that governments stopped thinking that privatisation is the cheapest and most effective way to provide an essential public service like the NHS - how can it be?

Re: So they are not going to privatise the NHS

Spot on Rena, you said in your post : ----
but I believe it won't be too long before a charge is made to the public each time an ambulance is called out.
They already recover a charge from a road accident and have done so for yonks, and they make quite a bit out of it.