Call for shake up in NHS funding: Clarifications from Doctors for Reform

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7547.973-c

BMJ 2006;332:973-974 (22 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7547.973-c

Letter

Call for shake up in NHS funding

Clarifications from Doctors for Reform

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—I wish to respond to some of the misrepresentationthat has followed your news article about Doctors for Reform.¹

Firstly, the steering committee consists of NHS doctors committedto equity of provision and access to health services accordingto clinical need, which should be free at the point of use.I have worked for 23 years in the NHS and have never seen privatepatients under my own care.

Secondly, we are not calling for co-payments by patients atthe point of use of health services, but rather an examinationof alternative compulsory social insurance schemes as operatein Europe (particularly those of Switzerland, Germany, and France).

Thirdly, we do this because the European systems have provedbetter clinical outcomes than the NHS (which came 18th out of19 in a recent study—France was No 1), cost no more ingross domestic product than the NHS now does, . . . [Full text of this article]

C David H Wrede, consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology

Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust, Taunton TA1 5DA wrede.pitlessie@btopenworld.com