The Inner Thatcher Rears it’s Ugly Head – Dawn of the Two Year Waiting Lists.
The latest stain on the Coalition Government’s spotless record has emerged as it’s been announced they are abolishing the targets to see a GP (General Practitioner) within 48 hours, and the target to see a Doctor within 4-hours of being in A&E (Accident and Emergency).
I see a Government like the one of 1979 the Tories back then issued that same piece of trouble it contributed to many deaths because of poor health service caused by a similar move that is being mimicked by a Different Generation of the same government.
This Basically means in the labour government you would have been able to see a doctor in a relatively fast time. But now the theoretical rug has been pulled from under our feet, a Surgeon, Nurse, Doctor, or other medical staff can choose when to see you which wont be that fast because they will be swamped with patients that didn’t see a GP and their illness/disease has got worse.
In the days of Margaret Thatcher Pensioners would die in Hospital halls from either the condition or starvation, people would lie in hospital beds for 12-hours with head-trauma before seeing a doctor, this move by the Coalition Government displays how Thatcherism is peeking it’s head from behind the scenes.
Another little twist in their plans, the NHS will no longer have to meet the 18-week waiting time for treatment, this may spark two year waiting lists that ruined so many lives in the past.
This move by the current Government has hidden consequences, the unavoidable death rates on the waiting list was high enough with labour in power now the Coalition are risking rising it even higher.
But on the other hand… the Coalition might undo the NHS’s need to meet those targets which may result in patients falling through the cracks and be harmed in the attempt to meet the standard of the hospital, but the Coalition haven’t replaced the removed targets with anything else to balance out the cuts to the NHS.
Labours NHS targets were meant to help patients get the fast and good health care that they need, it’s a shame doctors have misinterpreted their actions and got fixated on reaching the target at all cost’s.
My Eldest Brother has a suspected malignant cancerous lump on his nose he has to see a Doctor/GP I just hope with this bill in power he can actually get to see someone that may save his life (that’s if he actually wakes up early and phones the doctor, the lazy bugger :)).
Author: Caleb Law age: 13
Take a read of “NHS targets ‘have harmed patients'” at Caleb.
The survey by Bournemouth University – to which 549 general surgeons responded – found that surgeons were often expected to carry out complicated operations within tight timescales and many were operating on patients they hadn’t seen before. Over a period of just two weeks, 40 per cent of surgeons said they had been involved in cases where a patient was nearly harmed and 19 per cent where patients had been harmed.
There’s two sides to this debate and you’ve only covered one side in your article above.
NHS targets have harmed patients
Thank you for your comment John,
Nice survey’s and info but it was meant to be a short article just one sided it’s not an essay.
Caleb