Report comment

I looked forward with interest to see an unbiased assessment of the Brexit implications for the NHS. You may be interested in my comments on the five reasons given for supporting the remain campaign.

1. If Britain left the EU, would there be more money for the NHS? Yes your correspondents are probably right - most of all the the spare cash would be eaten up elsewhere. 9/10.

2. Is the EU a threat to publicly commissioned and provided healthcare? Your correspondents are right. For those who believe in the NHS as a nationalised industry, the EU is not a threat at the present time. However, given that all the other EU nations have a much more balanced public / private provider mix, it would be panglossian to suppose that the UK could continue indefinitely with its wholly socialist model in the EU in the future. 7/10

3. What about the TTIP trade deal? Whilst the current TTIP will exclude healthcare, given that the UK has very limited power to influence future EU policy, there is no guarantee that TTIP MK2 might not include healthcare against the wishes of the UK government of the day. (c.f too many examples to quote!) 5/10

4. What is the impact of migration on the NHS? Your corespondents quote "Today, there are 130,000 non-British European citizens working in the NHS, about 10 per cent of the total. If they were forced to leave, we would quickly face a workforce crisis. " No-one has ever suggested that they would be forced to leave. Brexit is designed to enable us to import future migrants to this country from all countries subject to eligibility and skills requirements. The suggestion that we would expel any existing EU workers is a despicable and wholly unwarranted calumny. I require an apology from the HSJ for publishing an outright and unvarnished political lie. 0/10.

5. How would leaving the EU affect NHS research and development? This is finely balanced. It is true that, proportionately, we get back more in R and D funding than we contribute. But, the idea that, as the EU as a whole shrinks in its share in terms of cutting edge scientific activity as compared with the rest of the world, that our minimal influence with the sclerotic bureaucracies of the EU somehow justifies our restricting our access to non-EU institutions becomes less and less attractive as globalisation marches on. Nevertheless 6/10.

So 27/50. Just marginally in favour of the Remain cause. But I have several other reasons for supporting Brexit, each rather more important than the NHS.