BMJ  2006;333:9 (1 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7557.9

News

BMA annual representative meeting, Belfast, 26 June to 29 June

Doctors blame untested policies for financial crisis in the NHS

Zosia Kmietowicz

Belfast

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

Doctors at the BMA's annual meeting of representatives in Belfast have blamed the government for the financial crisis in the NHS, saying that it has taken a record amount of money away from the care of patients and "squandered" it on unproved reforms.


Figure Removed (Available Only in the Full Text)
 James Johnson, the BMA's chairman, addresses the annual representative meeting in Belfast last week

Credit: MARK PEARCE/PACEMAKER INTERNATIONAL/BMA NEWS

 

"This financial crisis has nothing to do with diversionary talk of increases in doctors' pay or profligate spending by NHS trusts. It's a result of [the] government's own making—with relentless ideological reforms that have misappropriated billions away from patient care," said a Middlesex GP and a member of the General Practitioners Committee of the BMA, Chaand Nagpaul.

"[It is] lamentable that this once in a lifetime investment opportunity is being squandered in front of our eyes, leaving the NHS with cuts in services and staff and unable to . . . [Full text of this article]


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

Say no to the market
Fiona Godlee
BMJ 2006 333: 0. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

The BMA's flight from reality
stephen black
bmj.com, 4 Jul 2006 [Full text]
Evidence-based managment consultancy
Alan A Woodall
bmj.com, 5 Jul 2006 [Full text]
Access jobs at BMJ Careers
Whats new online at Student BMJ