Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

FOUNDATION HOSPITALS

These words are being penned, in draft form, in committee room 14 at the House of Commons where for the past 6 weeks I have been closeted away with 21 colleagues going line by line through the government’s latest Health bill. It is as long as War and Peace, but nothing like as interesting. Only another week to go and I will be free.

But when all the fine words have ceased and the ink is dry, will the Health Service be any better – that’s the question? The bill ushers in Foundation Hospitals, the latest craze in the relentless quest for a better healthcare system.

But if I asked you to name the key ingredient to make our hospitals more effective, what would you say? More doctors, more nurses, better cleaning arrangements, more resources, real freedom from Whitehall, you may cry. But how many of you would plump for more democracy as being the solution? Nonetheless, that is broadly what is being suggested. Once this bill goes through Foundation Hospitals will be “owned” by those people living locally who register to become a member. There will be elections, run by the hospital, among that group of members to determine who gets on the Board of Governors who will in turn appoint the Board of Directors who will run the show. There will be inspectors galore armed with fine teeth combs.

I have pressed ministers in the past few weeks to spell out the extra red tape and costs that will flow from maintaining these new bureaucracies, registers of members, running the elections and providing information and accounts to all and sundry.

We will have to wait and see whether there is a long queue of people desperate to become members of the 10 new foundation hospitals about to be announced (Exeter being the closest to us). I rather doubt it.

So what is the right way forward? We all want a health service free at the point of need and open to all, but how we structure that system should be guided by the lessons of the last sixty years. For example, would you feel safe flying in an aeroplane designed and built during the Second World War? I suspect you might prefer a modern purpose built machine making best use of modern technology.

I suggest 3 guiding principles: trust the professionals; put in the resources and give patients choice. Other countries manage it, why can’t we?

posted by Nigel on Thursday, June 26, 2003