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Labour’s empty NHS promises: Both Miliband and Burnham come to Ealing and offer a review

After five years of blaming their own £20 billion Nicholson Challenge policy, and it local roll out (AKA Shaping a Healthier Future (SaHF)), on the Conservatives we are now starting to hear Labour’s meagre promises on the local NHS system.See next post for more.

Phil Taylor ● 3983d7 Comments

Tony no you can't. Tis obvious if you can't get something for free you go pay for it. I am sorry you can't stand up and argue your case Phil. Safe on these pages eh?

Arthur Breens ● 3982d

"...drive patients to local private providers."I don;t know what your smoking over there Arthur, but can I have some if you've any left please?Objecting on the basis of the facts is one thing.  Inventing this kind of nonsensical argument is quite another.

Tony Colliver ● 3983d

Er... all they had to do was find £20 billion.  It is a huge sum of money and it wasn't going to be found in 2010.  In the next Parliament Simon Stevens' Five Year Forward View envisages an extra £8 billion of new money but £22 billion of savings.  The pressure to get more for our money will not go away.  Both LibDems and Conservatives have signed up to it.  Labour is ignoring the 5YFV and fantasising that the £2.5 billion of new money it promised can deliver new commitments, make all the pain in the NHS go away, deal with pent up pay pressure and produce extra clinical staff.  If Labour get in they are going to be in a world of pain with their NHS promises.  By the end of five years they will have had their NHS reputation destroyed and the Coalition years will be looking comparably rosy.  I won't be wasting my time with Mansfield's ridiculous charade.

Phil Taylor ● 3983d

Tell me Phil,Who was Andrew Lansley and who is Jeremy Hunt and what were/ are their jobs? I've heard about taking two years to turn a tanker round but this inertia argument won't wash and you know it.The Conservatives were in charge. All they needed was to do was to raise their hand and the whole could be stopped. They clearly had power over their Lib-Dem partners so that wasn't the problem. No they liked it and by not doing anything backed it to the hilt. WHY? Maybe because it would put great pressure on local NHS services and that would drive patients to local private providers. Anyway see you on Saturday Phil. Hope you are speaking.

Arthur Breens ● 3983d

Arthur,As you well know the "Mansfield" enquiry is a rather expensive bit of political masturbation on the part of Labour politicians who are happy to spend £100K of our money making a point.  You are avoiding commenting on the non-promises made by Miliband and Burnham in recent days. You must feel very let down but rather than call Labour out you are changing the subject.

Phil Taylor ● 3983d

Phil.Another big thank you for bringing the Shafting our Healthier Future proposals to the top of this and the election agenda. I gave evidence to the Independent Review Panel some time after the Shafting our Healthier Future proposals started to hit the rocks. Later its champion Dr Mark Spencer asked publicly for an Inquiry. In a Gazette Letter I suggested this was an enormous cheek on his part. The Inquiry should be about closure of two A&Es and his support for them not the effects which were the long waiting times at local A&Es; some of the longest in the country. Shortly after that the Mansfield Inquiry was launched. I note that Dr Spencer is playing his hand last after reviewing the critical submissions that have preceded the last hearing when he is due to appear. He hasn't done too well to counter local critics so far and we are looking to see how well he performs at Brent Civic Centre on Sat 9 May 9:30 am. Don't you love Scrutiny when you've waited so long for it? Phil you seem very interested in our NHS and I am wondering why you appear not to have braved the Mansfield Inquiry. I did. Still time to apply Phil eh? Arthur

Arthur Breens ● 3983d

First off Ed Miliband came to Ealing on 24th April to address a rally.  When asked about Ealing Hospital he said:We will obviously review decisions that are being made when we get into Government because I think you have to ask questions about downgrading an A&E at a time when there is an A&E crisis.Wow! A review. Pathetic. No promise of any substantial change to SaHF. Just a review. Great. We had one of those when the Independent Review Panel looked at it – and they waved it through.  Miliband’s message was underlined only this last Saturday when Shadow Secretary of State of Health, Andy Burnham, came to Ealing.  .@andyburnhammp: I am minded not to proceed with those changes (to west London A&Es). Will demand full clinical review.— Andy Slaughter (@hammersmithandy) May 2, 2015According to Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter Burnham said:I am minded not to proceed with those changes (to west London A&Es). Will demand full clinical review.So after five years of heaping ordure on the heads of the Conservatives for continuing with the Labour party policy as laid out on page 4:3 of their 2010 manifesto Labour’s big offer to Ealing is a review.  Ealing Central and Acton Labour candidate is even more confused in her leaflets.  She talks about “keep open our remaining hospitals”. Of course no hospitals have closed and none will.  Hammersmith lost its A&E but will focus on being a world class cardiac hospital and will take cardiac emergencies.  Central Middlesex will focus on elective surgery.  The NHS has already promised that Ealing and Charing Cross A&Es will remain as they are for three years after Tory Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt’s intervention following representations from Angie Bray.  So Huq’s promise is to "fight" for what the NHS is currently proposing to deliver.  Her number 1 pledge is to change nothing.

Phil Taylor ● 3983d