The tragic future of Obamacare
Reading this in London’s Daily Telegraph is all the more frightening when comparing the relative health of the British and American economies when the National health programs began.
The Government has promised to protect the overall budget of the NHS, which will continue to receive above-inflation increases, but said the service must make “efficiency savings” of up to £20 billion by 2014, which would be diverted back to the front line.
Mr Lansley said last month: “This protection for the NHS is protection for patients – to ensure that the sick do not pay for the debt crisis.”
Dr Carter said: “Andrew Lansley keeps saying that the Government will protect the front line from cuts – but the reality appears to be quite the opposite. We are seeing trusts making job cuts even when they have already admitted to being short staffed.
‘‘The statements he makes may be well intentioned – but we would implore him to get a grip on the reality, because these kinds of cuts are incredibly worrying.”
Katherine Murphy, of the Patients Association, said the cuts were “astonishingly brutal” and expressed particular concern at moves to ration operations such as hip and knee operations.
“These are not unusual procedures, this is a really blatant attempt to save money by leaving people in pain,” she said.
“Looking at these kinds of cuts, which trusts have drawn up in such secrecy, it particularly worries me how far they disadvantage the elderly and the vulnerable.
‘‘We cannot return to the days of people waiting in pain for years for a hip operation or having to pay for operations privately.”
She added that it was “incredibly cruel” to draw up savings plans based on denying care to the dying.
We are in DEEP do-do.
