FLYING in the face of common sense and against overwhelming opposition from healthcare professionals, Jeremy Hunt seems intent on barrelling down the road towards creating his vision of a 7-day NHS.
Congratulations Jeremy, you might think your one-man crusade is noble and reflects public opinion, but it is badly misjudged, inappropriate and unworkable.
Instead of trying to win political points (and you won’t) why not focus on the users of the NHS: we need to reduce visits to A&E and admissions to hospitals through better management of long-term conditions and people need to take responsibility for their own healthcare and use the NHS sensibly.
Instead of indulging in photo opportunities and showing your ‘solidarity’ with healthcare professionals, better to listen to what they have to say, spend some real time in primary care to see what GPs, nurses and pharmacists do and how they already pick up the substantial slack in the system. Have you not seen the TV series ‘Back to the Floor’, ‘Trouble at the Top’ or ‘The Hotel Inspector’? They are essential viewing for any manager. You are simply out of touch with reality. Not content with stretching the structure of the NHS to snapping point, driving GPs out of the NHS (and promising to pluck 5,000 more from the ether), and the plan to recruit physicians assistants into GP practices, your ill-advised scheme to print the costs of medicines on packs yet again goes against the advice of experienced professionals, evidence and common sense.
Medicines wastage can be tackled in a more intelligent fashion, we don’t need the sledgehammer approach that makes patients feel guilty about the cost of their essential medicines.
I understand that you are a very successful multimillionaire businessman, after suffering a series of failed ventures. Perhaps it’s time to reflect on how those failed experiences and what you learned from them might translate to your management of the NHS. You don’t want this catastrophic failure on your CV.
I know your inbox has been rather busy of late, but the time to start listening is overdue.