BMJ  2006;333 (1 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7557.0-f

Editor's choice

Say no to the market

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

How representative is the BMA's annual representative meeting? If it is representative, there's an astonishing consensus among UK doctors about the health service we want. Last week's meeting in Belfast stopped short of affiliating with "Keep our NHS public"—a pressure group founded last year because of "an urgent need to defend the NHS" (see news on bmj.com). But there was no mistaking the passion among BMA representatives for a publicly funded, freely available national health service.

A few people spoke against funding through general taxation, pointing to the European social insurance model, which delivers higher quality care, though at higher cost. And a few spoke against care being free at the point of access, suggesting that charges would moderate demand, enhance patient responsibility, and help bridge the funding gap. But when it came to a vote, support for the founding principles of the NHS was overwhelming (p 9. . . [Full text of this article]

Fiona Godlee, editor

(fgodlee@bmj.com)


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Rapid Responses:

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Who cares what doctors or the BMA thinks?
Neville W Goodman
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The world is run by those who turn up!
Steven Ford
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If you are serious about quality, say yes to the market
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Say no to ideologically dug-in heels
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SAY 'No' TO THE MARKET
Christopher W IDE
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say no to weather
L S Lewis
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Not the ‘market’ but the cutting edge quality.
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Lets apply these priciples to the BMJ!
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