Beware – The NHS Makes Politicians Look Foolish

Further evidence of why politicians should get out of the NHS management business. Hazel Blears has been made to look a fool in recent days. Her recent decision to join a protest outside her local hospital was remarkable. As a likely consequence of this decision the health debate continues a pace. Today’s Observer includes two articles about the NHS: one about its failings and the other about the apparent opportunity that this political failure gives the Conservatives.

So what of this opportunity?

The sight of Ms Blears on a ‘picket line’ must have warmed the hearts of most Conservatives this festive season. The old-fashioned image and hypocrisy on display was manna from heaven for us Tories. Despite a recent doubling of the annual spend on the NHS, the Labour Party Chair found herself obligated to “defend” her local hospital. Significant increases in NHS spending leading to no discernible improvement in NHS performance. Who would have thought of that outcome five years ago? Well, I did. As did many doctors. And yet the spin now is that doctors’ income, in particular that of GPs, is the reason why the NHS is in the position it is. Funnily enough, doctors are not too happy about this.

Bashing doctors has become Labour’s latest wheeze to distract the electorate from the real reasons why billions of their pounds have done nothing to improve their local health services. Yes, there have been some improvements, mainly of the cosmetic kind. The problem is, however, that I still find myself advising my patients of the length of hospital waiting times, the poor availability of physiotherapy services and the cost implications of certain drug regimens. The reality is that the money has primarily gone on services and infrastructure that will not improve day-to-day healthcare delivery. The vast amount of money spent on the patient records project and the obscene amount of money spent on management consultancy fees are just two examples of where our billions have gone. What about that Ms Blears?

Despite Labour’s woes, the Conservative Party has to tread carefully when it comes to health. In the 1980s the Labour Party carefully created an inaccurate image of nasty Tories planning to destroy the NHS. The majority of the staff at the time swallowed that unfair representation hook, line and sinker. What do they think now? Most doctors I speak to are very critical of the present government. The GPs, though acknowledging their recent pay increase, are exasperated by the daily need to collect pointless patient data. The hospital doctors are dealing with increasing uncertainty about their careers, an increase in uncertainty that did not exist under the Tories a decade ago. So yes, there is an opportunity for us Tories if the right decisions are taken.

I believe that the Conservative Party should get out of the healthcare business. The depoliticisation and localisation of healthcare delivery have to be the central themes of our health policy. Local hospitals should be answerable to local people. We should even consider the possibility of legislating for an optional local healthcare levy. That way, people would see where their money goes, and just as importantly, see how much healthcare actually costs.

The Labour Party’s experience of managing the NHS since 1997 should teach us all one lesson: whatever a political party commits to spending on the NHS it will never be enough to assuage the public demand for more. The Conservatives must remember that the NHS swallows votes as well as money.