General Election

[SydneyRover]

2/ ''What is the new operating model? 2018''

''The new operating model is the design of the new NHS Supply Chain service that will deliver
improved procurement and logistics support to the NHS. Working as part of the NHS, the new
NHS Supply Chain will deliver clinically safe, high quality products for the best possible value,
and aims to realise £2.4bn of savings in its first five years of operation, which can be used by
the NHS for reinvestment in front line services.

The new NHS Supply Chain will achieve this by:

• increasing uptake/volume of products purchased via the national route to market to
aggregate national demand, and secure value for money for the NHS and taxpayers;

• increasing use by the NHS of a standard range of clinically appropriate products to
reduce unwarranted variation in the system; and

• using increased buying power to affect purchasing behaviours and deliver the best
products at the best value for the NHS''

chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/https://wwwmedia.supplychain.nhs.uk/media/Customer_FAQ_November_2018.pdf

 ermmmm

2020

''How has NHS procurement changed since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic?''

''NHS England has taken on CCGs’ powers to purchase services.[10] This allows it to buy private sector beds on block and gives it greater ability to support the provision of services across the NHS during the crisis. CCGs will continue to purchase services as well.

The Cabinet Office has issued guidance on emergency procurement which sets out the routes government bodies can take to access goods rapidly, such as direct award (meaning no competition) and accelerated procedures.[11]''

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/article/explainer/nhs-procurement

''Boss of US firm given £4bn in UK Covid contracts accused of squandering millions on jets and properties''

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/17/boss-us-firm-uk-covid-contracts-accused-squandering-millions-on-jets-properties

If you voted tory did you vote for that?

[BillyStubbsTears]

By 2010, The NHS was top or close to the top of all the health outcomes per pound spent in the OECD.

This lot have f**ked it up grandly, as they did in the 80s and 90s.

And then right wingers say, "Oh the NHS model doesn't work."

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

By 2010, The NHS was top or close to the top of all the health outcomes per pound spent in the OECD.

This lot have f**ked it up grandly, as they did in the 80s and 90s.

And then right wingers say, "Oh the NHS model doesn't work."

Of course if it was solely political party driven you'd expect the NHS in Wales under Labour to be in a better place than England under the Conservatives?

[BillyStubbsTears]

By 2010, The NHS was top or close to the top of all the health outcomes per pound spent in the OECD.

This lot have f**ked it up grandly, as they did in the 80s and 90s.

And then right wingers say, "Oh the NHS model doesn't work."

Of course if it was solely political party driven you'd expect the NHS in Wales under Labour to be in a better place than England under the Conservatives?

Forgive me for being a bit brusque, but I'm literally at this very moment trying to deal with the personal consequences of a f**ked up NHS.

So I've not got time or inclination to be polite to that post. It is smug, ignorant b*llocks.

The Welsh NHS, like the English NHS, is in crisis because of the awful decision, supported wholeheartedly by you 14 years ago, to slash Govt spending.

The Welsh Govt doesn't get to choose what its overall budget is. That is set by London, and was savaged as part of the Austerity plans.

[albie]

Best of luck with that, BST.
I have been waiting for an op since 2016. Not urgent, but it would be good to get it sorted.

All the more reason to be worried about Streeting and his plan for more private sector involvement in the NHS.
Both Streeting and Starmer have accepted big donations from private health interests;
https://www.thenational.scot/news/24250557.wes-streeting-takes-175k-donors-linked-private-health-firms/

Outsourcing will continue to make inroads under Labour.
In whose interests will the NHS be run in future;
https://inwhoseinterests.uk/2022/06/08/hedge-fund-labour-why-is-the-party-of-the-nhs-now-receiving-money-from-private-health-investors/comment-page-1/

[Bristol Red Rover]

The whole discussion on health is messed up by "scientists", med tech, pharmacy, protectionist med organisations, and then people trying to live by quantity not quality of years.

More personal engagement, relationships, from medics would help, less production line method. Sorting out all the protectionist rules, systems, organisations. Changing the basic "rule" of if an intervention is not done there is more comeback on a medic than if one is done - savings, and increased health all round.

More use of natural alternatives that work with the body and mind would improve health, save money. Integration of social services, care, and health. Making dentistry free - not the cosmetic BS. High taxes on unnecessary cosmetic interference like botox, breast aug etc.

So much that can be done, none of it even up for discussion. Journalists mostly clueless around it. In fact any doc or medic interviewed is treated like some holy voice of truth. It's BS, and it costs us money and health.

Also, consistently, Labour, and socialists in general, are the worst around the above. Generally so stuck in a repressive system.

[BillyStubbsTears]

I'm sorry to hear that Albie.

My case is more serious, but the system is falling apart. Took 16 months between being referred by my GP and getting to see a consultant.

I cannot listen to the crap that some people spout people talk about the system not working. The system worked perfectly well 14 years ago. There's been a political decision not to fund our health service to the level it needs. And this is the result.

I disagree with you on outsourcing though.

We have an absolute crisis in the number of people who are waiting ridiculous times for treatment. That cannot be fixed overnight by the NHS. It's going to take years to rebuild capacity and we cannot wait years. We have to buy in treatment to get on top of the crisis.

[SydneyRover]

The NHS was a world standard for universal health care, if for nothing else the tories need dismantling just for the wrecking ball they used to trash it.

[Iberian Red]

Best of luck with that, BST.
I have been waiting for an op since 2016. Not urgent, but it would be good to get it sorted.

Albie,that is soobviously the fault of the Labour Party

[SydneyRover]

Best of luck with that, BST.
I have been waiting for an op since 2016. Not urgent, but it would be good to get it sorted.

Albie,that is soobviously the fault of the Labour Party

Don't forget global warming

[drfchound]

The NHS is in a mess right now but the signs are that Labour won’t improve things when they take over.

The Guardian now telling us by the the respected Nuffield Trust both the Conservative and Labour manifestos would put the NHS in a worse funding situation than they suffered under the Austerity period of the current government in 2010/11 and 2014/15.
“The assessment by the respected Nuffield Trust of the costed NHS policies of both parties, announced in their manifestos last week, says the level of funding increases would leave them struggling to pay existing staff costs, let alone the bill for massive planned increases in doctors, nurses and other staff in the long-term workforce plan agreed last year”.
Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that for Labour to deliver the change it is promising there would need to be more money on the table. “Labour’s manifesto offers no indication that there is a plan for where the money would come from to finance this,” he said.

My wife is also awaiting a much needed operation so we aren’t expecting too much after 4th July.

[Iberian Red]

The NHS is in a mess right now but the signs are that Labour won’t improve things when they take over.

The Guardian now telling us by the the respected Nuffield Trust both the Conservative and Labour manifestos would put the NHS in a worse funding situation than they suffered under the Austerity period of the current government in 2010/11 and 2014/15.
“The assessment by the respected Nuffield Trust of the costed NHS policies of both parties, announced in their manifestos last week, says the level of funding increases would leave them struggling to pay existing staff costs, let alone the bill for massive planned increases in doctors, nurses and other staff in the long-term workforce plan agreed last year”.
Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that for Labour to deliver the change it is promising there would need to be more money on the table. “Labour’s manifesto offers no indication that there is a plan for where the money would come from to finance this,” he said.

My wife is also awaiting a much needed operation so we aren’t expecting too much after 4th July.

I Hooe you weren't clinging all your hopes on before July 4th,or the last 15 years.
Let's hope things improve for her as they can't get any worse

[BillyStubbsTears]

Talking about parties assuming voters are thick.

https://x.com/Conservatives/status/1802715027876532697

Err...who has been in power for the past 14 years?

[albie]

Best of luck with that, BST.
I have been waiting for an op since 2016. Not urgent, but it would be good to get it sorted.

Albie,that is soobviously the fault of the Labour Party

Don't forget global warming

I don't understand these posts, where have I said that Labour are responsible for the wait for my elective surgery?
Just weird...sometimes you wonder are folk on drugs!

There is very little excess capacity in the private sector to ramp up treatment, and much of the work is done by the same staff.
They can't be in 2 places at the same time.

The real kicker is the cost increase carried by the health budget from using additional private provision;
https://weownit.org.uk/blog/analysis-nhs-has-lost-10-million-week-private-profits-2012

Much better to increase capacity (and staff wages) in the NHS, and retain that capability in house.
Outsourcing has been the means by which inefficiency has been introduced into procurement and service provision. It adds no value to the NHS.

[scawsby steve]

I'm sorry to hear that Albie.

My case is more serious, but the system is falling apart. Took 16 months between being referred by my GP and getting to see a consultant.

I cannot listen to the crap that some people spout people talk about the system not working. The system worked perfectly well 14 years ago. There's been a political decision not to fund our health service to the level it needs. And this is the result.

I disagree with you on outsourcing though.

We have an absolute crisis in the number of people who are waiting ridiculous times for treatment. That cannot be fixed overnight by the NHS. It's going to take years to rebuild capacity and we cannot wait years. We have to buy in treatment to get on top of the crisis.

Sorry to hear that, BST. I sincerely hope that whatever you have to have done, it will be successful.

[selby]

  Go private to the consultant Billy, if required he will refer you back to the NHS  for treatment, all you will pay is for the consultation the treatment will be on the NHS.
  I have a number of friends who have done this and have got the required treatment quickly, wheels within wheels.
  One had a knee operation within two weeks, and the other had stents inserted and later a bypass within a week of the consultations.
  Its a few hundred quid if the wife thinks it's worth it.

[albie]

Keith getting rinsed on LBC over the disgraceful 2 child benefit cap, which puts many children over the poverty line;
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1803009238765039616/pu/vid/avc1/1280x706/K__jcELjP0qXUffr.mp4?tag=12

The UK economy is the 6th largest in the world.
The idea that we can't afford this safety net is bonkers, and offensive.

Here is Labour spokesman Jonathan Reynolds in the HoC in 2020;
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1680537009301991424/pu/vid/858x720/xEomJug2F6DJ98nJ.mp4?tag=12

So they know what is needed, but they are choosing to pretend that the money can't be found.
This is beyond words.

Why do they indulge in this pointless performative cruelty?

[SydneyRover]

tell me where the money can be found for everything you want Albie ....... and still win the election

[albie]

Governments control the money supply, Syd.
They can raise as much as they need. They can also issue bonds, or borrow at preferential rates.

The issue is making sure that money released into the economy goes into productive capacity, and not into asset bubbles like property.
There is an inflation potential, but that is supposed to be managed down by the BoE.

Reversing the 2 child benefit cap needs only a very small amount of money, to do a great deal of social support;
https://www.ft.com/content/7b0600fe-c78a-4a5d-acf2-feacd5faa49e
There is no economic reason why you would not do this, it is simply a gesture of performative cruelty.

Paying for it is simple.
Equalise Capital Gains Tax with Income Tax and you have revenue to spare for other investments.

This is the type of economic stupidity you get when playing games with the inequality narrative.
The manifesto makes little sense when you see "growth" as the only means to address social questions.

[SydneyRover]

Governments control the money supply, Syd.
They can raise as much as they need. They can also issue bonds, or borrow at preferential rates.

The issue is making sure that money released into the economy goes into productive capacity, and not into asset bubbles like property.
There is an inflation potential, but that is supposed to be managed down by the BoE.

Reversing the 2 child benefit cap needs only a very small amount of money, to do a great deal of social support;
https://www.ft.com/content/7b0600fe-c78a-4a5d-acf2-feacd5faa49e
There is no economic reason why you would not do this, it is simply a gesture of performative cruelty.

Paying for it is simple.
Equalise Capital Gains Tax with Income Tax and you have revenue to spare for other investments.

This is the type of economic stupidity you get when playing games with the inequality narrative.
The manifesto makes little sense when you see "growth" as the only means to address social questions.

Except for the truss factor, if labour cannot show how any of it will be paid for the rw media is in waiting

added ........... the guardian would also call it out.

I do agree however the the uk is a rich country, it's just not been run properly, but you cannot turn atound 14+ years of maladministration overnight or promise to without scaring the horses.

[BillyStubbsTears]

The 2 child benefit cap is morally repugnant and economically illiterate. Letting kids grow up in abject poverty is ALWAYS more economically costly in the long run that spending today to lift them out.

But here's the problem.

That policy is popular among the electorate.

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2023/07/11/fa421/1

Labour are still so scared of being labelled as fiscally irresponsible that they are not prepared to take a moral lead on this. And that poll explains why. Because the public, wrongly, thinks it's about supporting scroungers.

I'll stand by what I've said before on this topic. You win nothing in politics by showing how sound your principles are. You can be against child poverty as much as you want, but if you don't achieve power, you can do f**k all about it.

I will guarantee that after five years of a Labour Government, child poverty, measures by whatever metric you want, will be lower than it is today. And that is what matters.

[SydneyRover]

thanks for the link bst, I hadn't seen that, the polling is fairly even except in politics and age factors.

[BillyStubbsTears]

For the record, I think Labour are being way overly defensive on this topic. This is one where they could take a moral lead and set an example without losing much if any support.

But I understand the reason for taking this stance. It's an iron discipline against doing anything that could derail the line that Labour will be fiscally responsible.

The way it's being painted by the jilted Left, as vast iron evidence that Labour is heartless and evil is a ridiculous reaction. Like I say, the proof will be in what actually happens rather than what is said during a campaign.

[albie]

First time I have seen the FT painted as the "jilted left"!

There is nothing "fiscally responsible" about keeping the 2 child benefit cap.
It is simply an unwanted legacy from Tory mismanagement, which should be reversed as an immediate priority.

There is no excuse for it, either ethically or in economic terms. So say so!
It is just vacuous gibber.

[Bristol Red Rover]

Labour could easily go on the attack and spell out how rich people benefit from the system, how redistribution is the right thing to do - not general taxation, nor wasteful over the top taxation. And then point out very clearly how Reform and the Tories are all about feeding the rich. Easy, especially with Sunak and Farage there to be shot down.

But they won't because they are serving the rich, the establishment. It is that simple.

[SydneyRover]

First time I have seen the FT painted as the "jilted left"!

There is nothing "fiscally responsible" about keeping the 2 child benefit cap.
It is simply an unwanted legacy from Tory mismanagement, which should be reversed as an immediate priority.

There is no excuse for it, either ethically or in economic terms. So say so!
It is just vacuous gibber.

looks like it's the voters you have to convince Albie

[Bristol Red Rover]

First time I have seen the FT painted as the "jilted left"!

There is nothing "fiscally responsible" about keeping the 2 child benefit cap.
It is simply an unwanted legacy from Tory mismanagement, which should be reversed as an immediate priority.

There is no excuse for it, either ethically or in economic terms. So say so!
It is just vacuous gibber.

looks like it's the voters you have to convince Albie

Not at all. Labour will win massively with or without this policy. The issue is with those that lead the Labour Party (ie not Starmer). It's about whether they want to help the poorest or not. Clearly this is a case of the Labour Party choosing not to.

It is one of their many needless shuffles to the right. I say needless - but someone there needs it. Who might that be?

[SydneyRover]

Again this is only your opinion brr, voters appear to like steady-as-she-goes, especially the centre which is what Starmer is, a centrist of the labour movement.

Further to my position, I would prefer more direct action to mitigate the damage done to peoples lives, but, would I risk getting a whole suite of policies that risk another 5 years of tories, no thank you.

[drfchound]

Voters with three or more kids will probably not be happy with the benefit cap though Syd.
Try explaining to that group why you think it is ok for them to be denied the extra money.

[BillyStubbsTears]

First time I have seen the FT painted as the "jilted left"!

There is nothing "fiscally responsible" about keeping the 2 child benefit cap.
It is simply an unwanted legacy from Tory mismanagement, which should be reversed as an immediate priority.

There is no excuse for it, either ethically or in economic terms. So say so!
It is just vacuous gibber.

Albie.

I agree.

The problem is that the country doesn't.

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2023/07/11/fa421/1

Like it or not, Labour's electoral strategy is to not be diverted into anything where the Tories will have an apparent advantage. I don't like it but I understand it. Win power, THEN make changes.

As I say, if after 5 years of a Labour Govt, child poverty is not significantly reduced, I will crawl on my knees and apologise.