Critic of Health Bill claims Lansley ‘smear’

 

An NHS chief who spoke out against the Government’s controversial Health Bill last night claimed he had been the target of political “smears” by Andrew Lansley’s department.

Professor John Ashton, the head of public health in Cumbria, who was awarded a CBE for services to the NHS, claimed that someone on behalf of the Health Secretary called his local BBC radio station to allege that he could not speak objectively because he was a member of the Labour Party.

The 64-year-old said he had been a member since he was 17, but it was an “outrageous smear” to suggest this clouded his independence as a doctor.

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http://www.nhscampaign.org/NHS-reforms/the-reality-behind-the-hype.html

Mis-sold, ill-conceived, unsupported

We have all heard about how the government’s health bill will make the NHS a better service: more clinician-led and more patient-centred. We have also been warned by the Prime Minister and his Health Secretary that their reforms are the only way to address the unprecedented financial and demographic pressures facing the NHS over the next few years. But how much of this salespitch is actually based on facts?

Below are some of the more common claims from the government – claims that simply don’t stand up to proper scrutiny. Click on any of the claims to reveal just a selection of the evidence that undermines them.

“Doing nothing is not an option.”

“We’re giving more power to GPs.”

“We’re going to cut bureaucracy.”

“We’re going to make the NHS better for patients.”

“We will never privatise the NHS.”

“We have listened and we have the support of NHS staff.”