Tory MP Backs Cherie Blair Healthcare Firm

[bigmarco]

Politics doesn't matter when it comes to making money. Not sure that its right that a former PM's wife is making money from a business on the back of Healthcare reforms brought in by the last 2 governments. Smells a bit if you ask me

A prominent Conservative MP is among a clutch of investors who have committed funds to a controversial healthcare venture established by Cherie Blair.

http://news.sky.com/story/1091921/to...ealthcare-firm

[Doc Alan]

The 7 “ healthcare centres “ already opened ( and further 5 planned ) fall short of the plans announced by Mrs Blair last year to “ open 100 … across the UK “.


Boasting by “ Mee Healthcare “ that it “ has been developed to revolutionise the delivery of healthcare in the UK “ is the last thing this country needs !


Mrs B told the Financial Times that “ while this venture is a commercial one, it is not about replacing the NHS or profiteering, but complementing the services it already offers…. to simplify access to basic healthcare and improve medical outcomes through earlier detection and more timely referral to GPs “. What ??


GPs are under criticism for being the best paid in the world, yet mostly not providing out-of-hours cover; such that far more people use A and E departments now than they did previously. But most taxpayers who pay for OUR NHS don’t want / can’t afford to pay privately for “ more timely referral “ to GPs .


One fact overlooked / misunderstood so widely by politicians, let alone the public, is that NHS systems are different across the UK !


In England clinical commissioning groups purchase healthcare from any provider meeting quality standards. Patients have choice of hospitals for elective care. The English system hopes for market-driven improvement - based on doctrine, rather than evidence .


Northern Ireland maintains a purchaser-provider split, through local commissioning groups all under one board.


In Scotland and Wales there is no separation between purchasers and providers. Health Boards plan and deliver services. Patients don’t have choice of secondary referral.


England’s “ reformed “ NHS – often misleadingly implied to apply across the UK – is founded now on competition. Elsewhere, especially in Scotland, the NHS relies more on cooperation and collaboration.



I don’t trust ANY modern politicians ( or their wives ), and stay clear of political debates on this forum or elsewhere. Like most healthcare workers, I’m motivated by helping others achieve the best health possible, while not judging their chosen or enforced lifestyles .



Mrs B and others need reminding that patients are not “ clients, customers, or products “. The NHS can never be a business in the commercial sense of the word. Its founding principle should remain free health care at the point of access for ALL legal occupants of this country .

[bigmarco]

Mrs B and others need reminding that patients are not “ clients, customers, or products “. The NHS can never be a business in the commercial sense of the word. Its founding principle should remain free health care at the point of access for ALL legal occupants of this country .

I agree

Good post Doc