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NEWS: Michael Day UK government accused of privatising the NHS BMJ 2006; 333: 61 [Full text]

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Neville W Goodman   (14 July 2006)

Read this article 14 July 2006
Neville W Goodman, Consultant Anaesthetist Southmead Hospital, Bristol, BS10 5NB Send response to journal: Re: Read this article	A few choice quotes from an excellent Comment (1) in the Lancet of the same week: "...blindingly obvious to all who were not previously aware that the [NHS] is being rapidly, cynically, and deceitfully privatised." "...it is the failure of those in power to appreciate that there is a fundamental difference between a service and a business... the business was always doomed to fail, for the simple reason that there was no real commodity for sale and no real purchaser..." "It is not just the edifice of the NHS that is being destroyed, but the professionalism of the people it employs. Managerial failure [is] justified by putting the blame on front-line clinical staff for failing to work efficiently." "...a climate of complaint encouraged by the Government and thoughtlessly echoed by the press..." "There is no reason at all why a first-rate, centrally funded national health service is not viable..." "...if the British public want to retain the principles of the NHS [and the current politicians and mandarins cannot be trusted] then someone else must do it." As a battle cry, this article cannot be bettered. Now we need the troops. 1 Jeffcoate W. Mismanagement as a prelude to privatisation of the UK NHS. Lancet 2006;368:98-100. Competing interests: None declared