Monthly Archives: February 2012

NHS news review

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Conservative election poster 2010

A few recent news articles about the UK’s Conservative and Liberal-Democrat (Conservative) coalition government – the ConDem’s – brutal attack on the National Health Service.

 

Shirley Williams calls for competition to be dropped from NHS ‘reforms’.

Nick Clegg states that Lansley is the right man to destroy the NHS.

 

 

Shirley Williams says Lansley should drop NHS competition clauses

Liberal Democrat peer says public fear privatisation of NHS, as David Cameron and Nick Clegg back health secretary

 

The government’s health reforms have been plunged into fresh doubt by a call from the Liberal Democrat peer Shirley Williams for Andrew Lansley to drop competition from the health bill – hours after the prime minister and his Lib Dem deputy defended the health secretary.

Writing in the Guardian, Lady Williams calls for the government to drop the chapter on competition, adding that the public has a fear of privatisation founded on the idea that GPs “might become dependent on advice from powerful private health companies, and that the imposition of UK and European competition laws, addressed to markets and not to social goals, might destroy the public service principles of the NHS“.

“What is needed is willingness by the government, including the prime minister, to reach a compromise on the most contentious issues,” Williams writes.

Her intervention, as leftwing Lib Dems mobilise to “kill the bill”, echoes Labour’s stance. With opposition mounting, the government has conceded more amendments. But Downing Street dismissed a call by the Lib Dem deputy leader, Simon Hughes, for Lansley to quit. The prime minister’s spokesman said: “It’s not an issue for Simon Hughes. The government is fully behind the health bill.”

Hours later, Nick Clegg told the BBC: “Andrew Lansley is the architect of the NHS bill. He cares passionately about the NHS. He’s the right man for the job and he must see it through.”

…

As plans face fresh attack by Labour peers, Clegg insists Health Secretary is right man to lead shake-up

David Cameron will stage a high-profile hospital visit tomorrow as he attempts to win the public-relations battle over the Government’s controversial health reforms.

The Prime Minister will intervene after the plans to overhaul the structure of the NHS came under fire last week from three unnamed Tory cabinet ministers. Downing Street was forced yesterday to express Mr Cameron’s full confidence in Andrew Lansley as Health Secretary amid fresh criticism of his failure to make the case for the Health and Social Care Bill.

A spokesman insisted Mr Cameron was “fully committed to the reform and modernisation of the health service”.

…

27/11/13 Having received a takedown notice from the Independent newspaper for a different posting, I have reviewed this article which links to an article at the Independent’s website in order to attempt to ensure conformance with copyright laws.

I consider this posting to comply with copyright laws since
a. Only a small portion of the original article has been quoted satisfying the fair use criteria, and / or
b. This posting satisfies the requirements of a derivative work.

Please be assured that this blog is a non-commercial blog (weblog) which does not feature advertising and has not ever produced any income.

dizzy

Continue ReadingNHS news review

NHS news review

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Conservative election poster 2010

A few recent news articles about the UK’s Conservative and Liberal-Democrat (Conservative) coalition government – the ConDem’s – brutal attack on the National Health Service.

Friday, 10 February

Cameron should scrap NHS bill and drop Lansley, says influential Tory blog

ConservativeHome editor says health secretary has failed to win public support for health and social care billDavid Cameron has been urged to replace Andrew Lansley and drop large chunks of the health bill by the Conservative party’s most widely read and influential website.

Tim Montgomerie, the editor of ConservativeHome, said in a post published on Friday that Lansley, the health secretary, had failed to win public support for the legislation and that, if the Tories did not back down, every problem with the NHSover the next three years would be blamed on the bill. The ConservativeHome intervention is particularly damaging to Cameron because Montgomerie says he was encouraged to speak out by three Conservative cabinet minsters who believe that pressing ahead with the bill would be folly. “One was insistent the bill must be dropped. Another said Andrew Lansley must be replaced. Another likened the NHS reforms to the poll tax,” says Montgomerie in his article. “The consensus is that the prime minister needs an external shock to wake him to the scale of the problem.”

…

The unnecessary and unpopular NHS Bill could cost the Conservative Party the next election. Cameron must kill it.

The NHS was long the Conservative Party’s Achilles heel. David Cameron’s greatest political achievement as Leader of the Opposition was to neutralise health as an issue. The greatest mistake of his time as Prime Minister has been to put it back at the centre of political debate.

Many Conservatives think that the NHS needs fundamental reform but for far-reaching reform to succeed certain pre-conditions must be met. The public needs to have been persuaded that substantial change is necessary. The Government cannot be distracted by other consuming projects but its best brains must be focused and single-minded in ensuring the policy’s success. The Whitehall machine needs to be prepared and co-operative. The Health Secretary needs to enjoy significant goodwill amongst NHS staff and possess exceptional communication skills. Few – perhaps none – of those preconditions exist.
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Related:

CSC confirms $1.5bn NHS IT write-off

Discussions between government and supplier over scope of National Programme for IT work continue

CSC has confirmed it is to write-off almost $1.5bn as a result of its involvement in the National Programme for IT (NPfIT).

In December 2011 the company, which had been contracted to supply electronic patient records systems to a number of NHS trusts, warned shareholders it may lose an amount equal to, or in excess of, its $1.49bn investment in the NPfIT.

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The Lib Dem dozen demanding release of “secret” NHS risk register

The drive to force Health Secretary Andrew Lansley to release the NHS risk register will also be ringing alarm bells in Downing Street.

A dozen MPs have signed the early day motion tabled by Labour MP Grahame Morris demanding ministers publish the document – which he claims could reveal a “cost surge” related to controversial NHS reforms and finish them off.

Here are the names of those Lib Dems to sign the motion – backed by 75 MPs in total:

Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Mike Crockart (Edinburgh West)
Andrew George (St Ives)
Duncan Hames (Chippenham)
Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South)
Martin Horwood (Cheltenham)
Julian Huppert (Cambridge)
John Leech (Manchester Withington)
Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West)
John Pugh (Southport)
Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute)
Bob Russell (Colchester)

And an Opposition Day debate in the House of Commons on publication of the NHS risk register is now scheduled for 22 February.

Mr Morris said: “Our suspicion is that it identifies a cost surge and one of the Government’s principle justifications for the Health and Social Care Bill is that this reorganisation will bring about the delivery of improved outcomes in a more efficient manner.

“Our suspicion is that the risk register suggests that may not be the case.

…

Saturday, 11 February

Miliband writes to lords over NHS reforms

Ed Miliband has taken the unusual step of writing to every member of the House of Lords in an attempt to block key parts of the coalition’s NHS reform Bill.

“On behalf of my Party, I want to extend this offer to peers of all parties and of none: we will work with you to stop this Bill damaging the NHS,” he wrote.

“Recent weeks and months have shown just how widely the concerns about this Bill are shared – not just among patients and the public, but also among doctors, nurses and other NHS staff.

“The Government would have us believe that those who oppose this Bill are ‘vested interests’. I think that is deeply insulting to people who have devoted their lives to working in the NHS and care about its future.”

…

 

Sunday, 12 February

The firm that hijacked the NHS: MoS investigation reveals extraordinary extent of international management consultant’s role in Lansley’s health reforms

  • McKinsey & Company paid for NHS regulator staff to go to lavish events
  • Many Health and Social Care Bill proposals drawn up by the company
  • Document shows it has used access to share information with other clients
  • McKinsey also worked closely with previous government and on disastrous Railtrack privatisation under John Major

… 

A Mail on Sunday investigation, based on hundreds of official documents disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, has revealed the full extent of McKinsey’s myriad links to the controversial reforms

Many of the Bill’s proposals were drawn up by McKinsey and included in the legislation wholesale. One document says the firm has used its privileged access to ‘share information’ with its corporate clients – which include the world’s biggest private hospital firms – who are now set to bid for health service work.

McKinsey’s involvement in the Bill is so great that its executives attend the meetings of the ‘Extraordinary NHS Management Board’ convened to implement it. Sometimes McKinsey even hosts these meetings at its UK headquarters in Jermyn Street, Central London.

The company is already benefiting from contracts worth undisclosed millions with GPs arising from the Bill. It has earned at least £13.8million from Government health policy since the Coalition took office – and the Bill opens up most of the current £106 billion NHS budget to the private sector, with much of it likely to go to McKinsey clients.

…

 

‘Parasitical’ firms condemned

 

Campaign group Keep Our NHS Public slammed “parasite” management consultancy firms today following revelations that a firm heavily involved in drafting the government’s health “reforms” paid for NHS regulator staff to attend luxury events.

The group spoke out after the true scale of US firm McKinsey’s role in drafting proposals for Health Secretary Andrew Lansley’s Health and Social Care Bill was laid bare.

Freedom of Information research by lobbying industry monitor Spinwatch has revealed that not only do many of the Bill’s reforms originate with McKinsey but the firm has also been using its position to share information with private clients set to bid to carry out health services.

At the same time its has paid for senior staff at Monitor, the NHS regulator, to go on lavish international trips and high-brow theatre events.

Keep Our NHS Public’s Professor Wendy Savage said: “The Health Bill is a bonanza for management consultants like McKinsey.

They earn money from the giant private health companies trying to sell services to the NHS.

“They earn money from the commissioning groups being set up to buy services from these companies.

“And they earn money from advising the Department of Health on how to drag the NHS down the road to private provision and private insurance.

“The conflicts of interest involved are staggering. The only way to prevent these parasites from feasting on the corpse of the NHS is for the Prime Minister to intervene and bury the health Bill once and for all.”

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Only one in four back NHS reforms

Only one in four people supports the Government’s controversial health reforms, according to a trade union study today.

A survey of over 1,600 adults by Unison also found that almost two thirds do not trust the Government to handle the NHS. Less than a third were in favour of GPs having the power to commission health services from private companies – a central plank of the reforms.

Only 12% of 2010 Lib Dem voters supported the bill and just 20% trusted the Government’s handling of the NHS, the research found.

Two thirds of 2010 Lib Dem voters were against private companies being commissioned by GPs to provide services.

Unison urged the Government to listen to patients, health professionals, unions, Royal Colleges, think tanks, and to the public, and to drop its bill.

General secretary Dave Prentis said: “The Government has to drop its Health and Social Care Bill. Unison’s poll shows that the hundreds of amendments, and the so-called listening exercise simply haven’t worked.

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Related: You Gov poll for UNISON reveals that 62% don’t trust the government with the NHS

Risks Of NHS Reform Hang On PM’s Shoulders

 

For David Cameron, this is the most high-risk high wire act of his premiership.

He has moved decisively to quash speculation that he’s contemplating ditching both Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, and his contentious health reform bill.

In an article in The Sunday Times he says he’s “at one” with the man, and the plan.

But this comes in the teeth of bitter opposition from professional bodies representing three quarters of the NHS workforce, and a succession of reverses in parliament.

A recent Lords defeat is expected to be followed by more in coming days.

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Expert challenges ‘myth’ of falling NHS productivity

 

Official figures have failed to reflect recent improvements in the NHS in England, according to the Lancet.

It says a myth has grown up that the health service became less productive as funding increased.

The author, a leading policy expert, says the government has used this to defend its NHS reforms – and that Labour has not defended its record.

The Department of Health said it wanted to make “every penny” invested in the NHS count.

The paper argues that politicians have reached a flawed consensus that NHS productivity fell in the decade after 2000.

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Related: NHS productivity has risen in 10 years, undermining Lansley’s case, says study

 

27/11/13 Having received a takedown notice from the Independent newspaper for a different posting, I have reviewed this article which links to an article at the Independent’s website in order to attempt to ensure conformance with copyright laws.

I consider this posting to comply with copyright laws since
a. Only a small portion of the original article has been quoted satisfying the fair use criteria, and / or
b. This posting satisfies the requirements of a derivative work.

Please be assured that this blog is a non-commercial blog (weblog) which does not feature advertising and has not ever produced any income.

dizzy

Continue ReadingNHS news review

NHS news review

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Conservative election poster 2010

A few recent news articles about the UK’s Conservative and Liberal-Democrat (Conservative) coalition government – the ConDem’s – brutal attack on the National Health Service.

Health bill in fresh trouble as first signs of cabinet dissent emerge

Plans being laid for call at Liberal Democrat spring conference for bill to be scrapped

The government’s beleaguered health bill has run into fresh trouble after it emerged that plans are being laid for a call for it to be scrapped at the Liberal Democrat spring conference.

It is also expected that the influential Conservative Home website, seen as the voice of the party grassroots, will publish an editorial on Friday calling for the bill to be dropped altogether. It is understood that Conservative Home has been urged to make the call by three cabinet members who believe David Cameron is not listening on the issue. One source said: “We have almost been instructed to write this.” It is extraordinary that cabinet members feel so frustrated at the political deadlock that they have resorted to urging Conservative Home to raise the flag of rebellion.

It has been widely canvassed within the government that non-contentious parts of the bill covering public health, social care and GP commissioning could be retained, while controversial parts dealing with an extension of the private sector could be abandoned altogether, something that would be a humiliation for the health secretary, Andrew Lansley.
… [informative article]

 

Lib Dem group launches in protest against Tory-led coalition

Liberal Left group aims to mobilise opposition against ‘drift to the right’, claiming the mood in the party is radicalising

The first Liberal Democrat group openly opposed to the coalition is to be launched at the party’s spring conference in Gateshead next month with a warning that the coalition has been a political disaster for the party, as well as a denial of its radical roots.

Launching a website on Wednesday, the group Liberal Left said it hoped to become a rallying point for members opposed to the coalition and those who see the party as a centre-left organisation seeking common cause with Labour, Greens and others on the centre left.

One of its founders, Richard Grayson, conceded that the vast majority of the party was committed to the coalition and denied the group would be working to put a motion to conference calling for the Liberal Democrats to withdraw from its partnership with the Conservatives. He said the focus was more on developing policies on the centre left, and creating a space for a coalition with Labour if necessary after a general election.

Most of the group’s founder members have long been opposed to the coalition, but it believes other party members will join, and the mood of the party is radicalising. Grayson said Liberal Left differed from the other well-established left group inside the party – the Social Liberal Forum – in that it opposed the coalition, and did not agree that the party should be politically equidistant between Conservatives and Labour.

In its strongly worded founding statement, Liberal Left asserts: “We articulate policy positions within the Liberal Democrats which should be central to a radical party. Such policies have informed recent general election manifestos which our candidates have stood, and on which our MPs have been elected.

“Those views are not being currently voiced effectively in a party whose radical traditions have become muted in government and whose leaders have taken the party’s policy positions to the right. We are now part of a government which is Eurosceptic, neo-liberal and socially conservative.”
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NHS backs down in dramatic court battle over services

NHS bosses have backed down in their battle with campaigners fighting major changes in Gloucestershire.

This afternoon at the Royal Courts of Justice NHS Gloucestershire and claimant Michael Lloyd issued a joint statement.

It reads: “Both parties agree that the public of Gloucestershire deserve the best possible NHS services.

We recognise the need for efficient use of public funds and believe that an end to legal proceedings is in everyone’s interest – particularly patients.

NHS Gloucestershire is pleased to be able to report that it has agreed terms to settle the Judicial Review brought by Gloucestershire resident, Mr Michael Lloyd.

The PCT recognises that it is important to maintain the confidence of patients, public and staff in decisions made concerning NHS services in our county.

Accordingly, and in view of the matters raised in court and without in any way accepting that there is merit in the legal complaints made by Mr Lloyd, the PCT has agreed not to implement its decision to enter into a contract with GCS at this time.

The PCT has agreed that it will start a new process to explore the best option for providing community services in Gloucestershire. As part of that process, NHS Gloucestershire will advertise for expressions of interest for the provision of NHS services in Gloucestershire.

The PCT will take necessary steps to ensure an appropriate level of staff and public engagement.
…

Unite threatens new NHS pension strike ballot

The Unite trade union says it may hold a fresh strike ballot of its 100,000 members in the NHS over their continuing pension dispute.

The union’s leadership has already rejected a draft agreement proposed by the government in December.

In November, staff throughout the public sector staged a national one-day strike against the proposed changes.

Since then, union opposition has become divided, with some agreeing to further talks which others have rejected.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Fire Brigades Union are also threatening to strike over proposed changes to their pension scheme.

They said there would be a “rapid move” towards a strike ballot after finding the government’s proposals “unacceptable”.

Unite’s general secretary, Len McCluskey said: “There have been no substantive changes from what was on the table before Christmas – our hard-working members will still be expected to pay more, work longer and get less when they retire.”

“‘Our members are deeply unhappy at the government’s stance and we will be holding a consultative ballot to reaffirm our members’ position – the prospect of further strike action will be very real, unless ministers move on their hardline position.”
…

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Bank of England gives yet another £50B to bankers

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“…quantitative easing – printing money by another name – is the last resort of desperate governments when all other policies have failed.”

George Osborne, speech January 9 2009

The Bank of England announced today that it intends to do a further £50billion round of Quantitative Easing. Quantitative Easing involves pumping money into the economy in an apparently futile – it hasn’t yet been shown to work – attempt to stimulate the economy. There is a problem that there is very little to show for so many billions after billions that have already been squandered on Q.E.

It appears that it’s austerity for the vast majority and rolling in lolly for the rich elite. No money for the NHS for the plebs, plenty of billions to stimulate the markets for rich multi-millionaire traders and bankers to get yet richer.

There is an argument that the poor would stimulate the economy far more – since they would have to spend the money.

 

 10/2/12:

Quantitative Easing is stimulating commodity trading, not the real economy

As the economy slides towards recession, the Bank of England today announced today it was creating a further £50bn worth of ‘quantitative easing’ (QE).

If you read articles on the topic in the media, you will see statements like “the Bank is ‘printing’ money” or the Bank  will “pump a further £50 billion in to the economy”.  Both these statements are misleading.

QE actually involves the Bank of England buying financial assets – usually government bonds – belonging to institutional investors and sitting in Banks. The Bank buys these assets with newly created central bank reserves.  These reserves can only be held by banks – they do not and cannot go to businesses the real economy.

As explained in nef’s Where Does Money Come From?, central bank reserves are used by commercial banks to settle payments with each other.

By ‘pumping’ more reserves in to the intra-bank clearing system the idea is that banks will feel more confident about making loans to the real economy because they will know that other banks are in a stronger position to settle with them.

In addition, by buying up ultra-safe government bonds in vast quantities and thus pushing down the yield (the interest received on holding) on these assets, the central bank hopes to encourage investors to buy higher yielding corporate bonds – which again provides money for real businesses.

QE may reduce long-term interest rates, but there is little evidence it has stimulated commercial banks to start lending more to businesses, in particular small businesses, or soften the conditions banks are attaching to loans.

In fact the most recent figures published by the Bank show that net lending – the amount of loans minus the amount repaid – to small businesses has contracted by six per cent in the year to November 2011. And this despite the banks being given small business lending targets by the government through ‘Project Merlin’.  Not much wizardry there then.

The hard truth is that commercial banks are still in a process of ‘de-leveraging’, more keen on getting their loans repaid and building up their capital base than making new loans to productive businesses in what is perceived to be a risky real economy.

Evidence suggests the additional funds provided by QE are more likely to be used by banks to create more speculative credit, not least commodity speculation,  that provides shorter term returns.  As a result, the money supply in the real economy is contracting just at the point where new investment is most needed.

…

 

 

Continue ReadingBank of England gives yet another £50B to bankers

NHS news review

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Conservative election poster 2010

A few recent news articles about the UK’s Conservative and Liberal-Democrat (Conservative) coalition government – the ConDem’s – brutal attack on the National Health Service.

There is a huge amount of NHS news now that the Health and Socal Care / Destroy the NHS Bill is back in the Lords and discussed at Prime Minister’s Question time.

NHS bill faces fresh opposition ~ Channel4

David Cameron was barely on his feet at PMQs when the Faculty of Public Health announced it was calling for the Health and Social Care Bill to be withdrawn, writes Victoria Macdonald.

It was tricky timing. Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) was inevitably going to be dominated by the NHS reforms simply because it is back in the House of Lords today.

And sure enough, the Labour leader Ed Miliband attacked the PM for “breaking his word on no top-down reorganisation”. All Mr Cameron’s attention, he said, was on the reforms and this meant the front-line was suffering.

“He knows in his heart of hearts that this is a complete disaster,” Mr Miliband said.

“Why won’t you just give up and stop wasting billions and drop your bill?”

Mr Cameron repeated the claim that GPs were not just “supporting our reforms, they are implementing our reforms”.

But this is a claim that is becoming more difficult for the government to keep making. The list of organisations now calling for the bill to be scrapped is growing and pressure is growing on the Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley.
…

David Cameron and Ed Miliband clash over NHS reform in PMQs

Miliband tells Cameron to ‘stop wasting millions and drop the bill’ while Tory leader retorts that Miliband is an opportunist

David Cameron delivered a passionate defence of the government’s health reforms in the face of a challenge by Ed Miliband to “stop wasting millions and drop his bill”.

The prime minister made it clear his government intended to put the health and social care bill on to the statute book despite growing opposition within the NHS and the Conservative party.

Cameron cast the battle over the NHS shakeup as one between a bureaucrat-run NHS and a doctor-run NHS, insisting that the reforms were stripping billions of pounds in bureaucracy to “plough back” into patient care, and he attacked Labour’s refusal to fund increases in the NHS budget.

“They are not in favour of the money, they are not in favour of reform, they are just a bunch of opportunists,” Cameron told the Commons.

The premier also rallied to the defence of his beleaguered health secretary, Andrew Lansley, after a No 10 insider was quoted as saying he should be “taken out and shot”, raising doubts about his future in the cabinet.

The prime minister and the Labour leader clashed at prime minister’s question time on the day that the health and social care bill returns to the Lords for its report stage, where it is tipped to face staunch opposition from sections of the second chamber. In a heated exchange, Miliband told Cameron that “in his hearts of hearts” the prime minister knew that the bill was “a complete disaster”, and he cited opposition to the reforms from a long list of health care unions and associations.
…

David Cameron attacks Labour’s handling of NHS Wales

Prime Minister David Cameron has launched an attack on Labour’s handling of the health service in Wales.

Mr Cameron said people were waiting longer for operations and accused the Welsh government of cutting funding.

He made the claim while defending reforms of the NHS in England – plans which the Welsh government said were a “complete and utter shambles”.

The Welsh government said the prime minister’s figures were “totally wrong”.

At question time in the Commons on Wednesday, Mr Cameron said the NHS in Wales showed what happens “when you don’t put the money in and don’t do the reform”.
…

Prime Minister David Cameron compared to General Custer after attack on Welsh Government’s NHS policies

Prime Minister David Cameron was compared to General Custer by the Welsh Government yesterday after he launched a furious attack on the NHS in Wales.

In the latest burst of conflict between the two governments, Health Minister Lesley Griffiths blasted the UK Government’s plans for the NHS as a “complete and utter shambles” and accused Mr Cameron of lacking a mandate.

It came after Cameron lambasted the Labour Welsh Government’s management of the NHS as he fought back against calls to abandon his controversial health policies for England.

The BMA in Wales applauded the Welsh Government for remaining “loyal” to the vision of Labour NHS pioneer Aneurin Bevan and called on Mr Cameron to withdraw the legislation. The Royal College of Nursing also defended the record of the government in Cardiff.

The Welsh Government claimed the Prime Minister had his facts wrong and compared him to Custer – a US general remembered for the defeat he suffered when overwhelmed by Native American fighters in 1876 at the Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as Custer’s Last Stand.

The Prime Minister launched his attack on the Welsh Government as he came under sustained attack in the Commons from Labour leader Ed Miliband over the coalition’s NHS reforms.
…

 

NHS Reforms: Government Lacks Plan B, Lords Told

The coalition government has no “plan B” for its controversial proposals to reform the NHS, the House of Lords has heard.

Health secretary Andrew Lansley has seen his Health and Social Care Bill come under heavy fire, with calls for it to be dropped gaining momentum.

The bill, which centres around the responsiblity for the commissioning of health services passing from primary care trusts to GP consortia, is viewed by critics as privatisation of the NHS.

Parliamentary undersecretary of state for health Earl Howe told lords that the government was set on its bill as it was “the right thing to do”.
…

[“The right thing to do” is recognised as a Blairite argument whereby the divorced-from-reality fruitcake felt that it was unnecessary to justify His decision.]

 

NHS managers oppose Health Bill

The Institute of Healthcare Management (IHM) is ‘close to’ calling for the withdrawal of the Health and Social Care Bill.

An IHM member opinion poll found managers had experienced “worsening conditions” for both patients and NHS staff thanks to the reforms.

The official release of the survey is not due until 14 February but Sue Hodges, Chief Executive of IHM, told MiP that 87% of its members that have responded to the poll currently want to see the bill withdrawn.

Hodges said that within minutes of the request being posted online, the IHM was able to “confidently” say Health and Social Care managers do not support the Health Bill and the “inevitable consequences” of it.

She said it is “very likely” the IHM will make an official call for the withdrawal of the bill next week.

IHM leaders criticised the government’s almost “total disregard” for its advice given during its consultation period last year.
…

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