""The country is not on its knees. More people are in work than ever and that's not a bad thing.""

Bear in mind that there is another dimension to consider. There are more people IN work who are below the poverty line than at any time since the inception of the Welfare State.


""If only it was that simple. One of the challenges facing the NHS is the rising number of people who hang around being a bit ill using resources for years ie me and the others who are living longer. The second one is it is a massive and a massively expensive organisation. It has to be managed and their has to be a balance between care and management of care, they are not alternatives. It is still pretty good and spendsless on admin. than the alternatives.""

IMHO the biggest problem for the health service today is in point of fact OVER management.

Between government and hospital, there are too many layers of administration (bureaucracy). With Area health authorities, District health authorities, and Primary Care Trusts, most of the cash fed in at the top never reaches patient care, most of it in fact going to finance armies of pen pushers and bean counters, which have no logical relevance in an age of computer technology.

Ideally, hospitals should be managed by Clinicians, who at least would know that a patient is somebody's family member, and not a number on a flow chart.

If all the money spent on intermediate levels were divided among the hospitals to use in the most patient centred fashion, most of the NHS's problems would vanish overnight. And for God's sake, bring back the MATRON!! That's the way to return to clean, safe hospitals.

Of course, the government which brought this to fruition would be kicked out at the next election, for adding all those accountants and clerks to the unemployment figures. You can't bloody win!

If, during the coming years of Tory government, Labour Party members want to make a difference, I have a suggestion. Start talking to the likes of Tony Benn, or Bob Marshall-Andrews. Their political ideals are not mine, but I respect them as honest socialists, and I know that they would present a much more credible opposition than this bunch of tossers, who have tried to out Tory the Tories for eleven years, and failed miserably even to manage THAT.

Don T.