Clive Peedell
North East
NHS Consultant Clinical Oncologist
Co-leader National Health Action party
Co-chair NHS Consultants Association (NHSCA)
Member of BMA Council (my views are personal)
Recent activity
Comments (166)
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Comment on: How to design and deliver a clinically led organisation
Chris, I'm afraid the vast majority of doctors do not want to be a part of a market driven NHS. Leadership needs followership and it's not there. Most of us do not buy into it. I'll leave you with important quote from former editor of NEJM, Prof Arnold Relman, which sums up the problem: "Medical professionalism cannot survive in the current commercialized health care market. The continued privatization of health care and the continued prevalence and intrusion of market forces in the practice of medicine will not only bankrupt the health care system, but also will inevitably undermine the ethical foundations of medical practice and dissolve the moral precepts that have historically defined the medical profession." JAMA ref: http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/root/pdfs/thoracic/Medical_Professionalism_in_a_Commercialized_Health_Care_Market.pdf The market undermines professionalism and rejects the public service ethos.
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Comment on: Anti-NHS reforms party launched
Anon @6.27 Thanks for response The point about mentioning about our psephologist (who is an economist who works in the NHS, by the way) was to counter some of the other points you have made ie risk of splitting vote etc. We will target seats very carefully, which requires expertise (ie a psephologist!). In terms of views on other issues, that will be down to individual candidates. I agree that some parts of the NHS work well. That is what we want to protect. As for privatisation, I suggest you have a look at my article in the BMJ: http://www.healthprofessionals4nhs.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Peedell-privatisation-is-inevitable-bmj.d2996.full_.pdf By all accepted definitions, the NHS is being increasingly privatised. In fact that is Government economic policy - supply side reform including replacement of large swathes of the public sector with private sector. You should care about NHS being broken up and sold off in the new market. The "free at point of use, doesn't matter who provides service" is a straw man argument. The market will fragment and dismantle the healthcare system, increase costs, and increase inequalities of care. The idea that the public sector is uninterested in reform is untrue. It has been embracing redisorganisation after redisorganisation for years (see Nigel Edward's Triumph of Hope over Experience) As for paying more that you need to, what about profits of the private companies not going on patient care, and instead to offshore tax havens? As for failure, if we manage to get the NHS as the number 2 most important issue (after economy) at next election, we will have been a success. Best wishes, Clive
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Comment on: Anti-NHS reforms party launched
anon @ 4.41pm We are targeting seats carefully. We have a PhD psephologist on our exec committee. Not sensible to call something stupid when you clearly don't understand our strategy
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Comment on: Hunt urges culture of co-operation
Spot on anons 11.14am and 11.30am We have had a market in healthcare since 1991, despite the fact that market failure is inherent in healthcare. If we want a co-operative integrated system we need to abolish the PP split. Even the Health Select Committee could see that!
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Comment on: Third of acute care 'not needed'
Let's put this into some context: The NHS Confed receives 50% of its funding from the DH, so is effectively a mouthpiece for the DH, which wants to make £20 billion QIPP savings (to begin with). The DH has already made it clear that it wants to achieve this in part by transferring as much work as possible into the community. The 30% figure is wildy optimistic or pessimistic (whichever way you so it!). Firstly, many patients who present acutely still need to be come to hospital for investigation. They need a diagnosis and a treatment plan before being discharged. It is only after this assessment that decisions can be made. Some of this assessment sometimes needs to be done as an inpatient, but not all of it. If the patient is well enough to go home, then they should be sent home with an appropriate care plan. Sometimes patients have social issues and need admission on that basis. This can only be addressed by adequately funding Social Care eg Dilnot etc Finally, I think most acute physicians who are struggling to find beds in an almost constant battle with bed crises, would baulk at Mike Farrar's comments.
