More than 100 top doctors attack government record on NHS

Letter from senior health professionals say coalition has left NHS in weakest position ever and calls on people to use votes to reinstate service

Leading doctors in the NHS have accused the coalition government of a catalogue of broken promises, funding cuts and destructive legislation which has left the health service weaker than ever before.

In a letter to the Guardian, more than 100 senior doctors pass a damning judgment on the government’s stewardship of the NHS, which they say is under pressure because of unnecessary market-oriented changes.

“As medical and public health professionals our primary concern is for all patients. We invite voters to consider carefully how the NHS has fared over the last five years, and to use their vote to ensure that the NHS in England is reinstated,” they write.

The signatories to the letter include Dr Clare Gerada, former chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners; Prof John Ashton, retired director of public health; epidemiologist Prof Michael Coleman; Simon Capewell, professor of public health at the University of Liverpool; Trisha Greenhalgh, professor of primary care at Oxford; Martin McKee, professor of European public health, and Raymond Tallis, emeritus professor of geriatric medicine at the University of Manchester.

The letter, which the doctors have written in a private capacity, challenges the government on its NHS record and deplores the current pressures facing the health service.

Entering the last election, David Cameron assured voters that the NHS was safe in Conservative hands. The doctors, however, say the NHS “is withering away and if things carry on as they are then in future people will be denied care they once had under the NHS and have to pay more for health services. Privatisation not only threatens coordinated services but also jeopardises training of our future healthcare providers and medical research, particularly that of public health.”

Just a week ago, 100 senior business leaders wrote to the Telegraph, claiming a Labour government would “threaten jobs and deter investment” in the UK. The NHS is a potentially difficult issue for the Tories and a strong suit for Labour.

Earlier on Tuesday, the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said he would meet the funding challenge thrown down by the NHS chief executive, Simon Stevens, last year. Stevens said in October that the health service faced a funding gap of £30bn by 2020, of which £22bn could be met through efficiency savings.

Hunt told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme: “We will give whatever they need. It might be more than £8bn, it might be less.”

Within hours of Hunt’s pledge, an earlier draft of the doctors’ letter was leaked to the Daily Telegraph, which claimed that Labour had orchestrated it. Julian Smith, the Tory candidate defending Skipton and Ripon, told the paper: “This Labour stitch-up is another desperate attempt to weaponise the NHS. The truth is that only today Andy Burnham said he didn’t support the NHS’s own funding plan. Under this government, we’ve got more doctors, more nurses and more patients being seen than ever before.”

But Gerada, who organised the letter, denied that the Labour party was responsible. “It has not been orchestrated by Labour, it has been put together by me and a few other medical leaders,” she told the Telegraph. “I’m not doing this from a party political point of view. My views on the health service and the Health and Social Care Act go back and are well known. This letter was drafted by me and some others.

“I am a Labour party member now, but I’m not an activist in the Labour party. This is a view of many doctors who have serious concerns about the state of the NHS as it is now.”

A Labour spokesperson said: “It’s little surprise that doctors have written this letter – they are deeply concerned about the direction of the NHS under David Cameron and the consequences for patients of another five years of Tory government. The NHS needs Labour’s better plan for 20,000 more nurses and 8,000 more GPs, paid for with a £2.5bn a year time to care fund, and guaranteed GP appointments within 48 hours.”

The letter attacks Andrew Lansley’s NHS shakeup, which was passed by parliament in 2012 as the Health and Social Care Act. It is “already leading to the rapid and unwanted expansion of the role of commercial companies in the NHS. Lansley’s Act is denationalising healthcare because the abolition of the duty to provide a NHS throughout England, abdicates government responsibility for universal services to ad hoc bodies (such as clinical commissioning groups) and competitive markets controlled by private sector-dominated quangos,” the doctors write.

The squeeze is hitting patients, they continue: “People may be unaware that under the coalition, dozens of accident and emergency departments and maternity units have been closed or earmarked for closure or downgrading. In addition, 51 NHS walk-in centres have been closed or downgraded in this time, and more than 60 ambulance stations have shut and more than 100 general practices are at risk of closure.”

Thousands of NHS beds have closed since 2010, they say, while mental health and primary care are in disarray and public health has been “wrenched” out of the NHS and is now the responsibility of local authorities.

The way forward is clear, the doctors say. “Abolish all the damaging sections of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 that fragment care and drive the NHS towards a market-driven, ‘out-for-tender’ mentality where care is provided by the lowest bidder. Reversing this costly and inefficient market bureaucracy alone will save significant sums. Above all, the duty on the secretary of state to provide a health service throughout England must be reinstated – it still exists in Scotland and Wales.”

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/07/more-than-100-top-doctors-attack-government-record-on-nhs

The letter in full:


After five years of a government which pledged to protect the NHS, this election campaign makes it timely to assess its stewardship, since 2010, of England’s most precious institution. Our verdict, as doctors working in and for the NHS, is that history will judge that this administration’s record is characterised by broken promises, reductions in necessary funding, and destructive legislation, which leaves health services weaker, more fragmented, and less able to perform their vital role than at any time in the NHS’s history.

In short, the coalition has failed to keep its NHS pledges.

The 2012 Health and Social Care Act is already leading to the rapid and unwanted expansion of the role of commercial companies in the NHS. Lansley’s Act is denationalising healthcare because the abolition of the duty to provide an NHS throughout England abdicates government responsibility for universal services to ad hoc bodies (such as clinical commissioning groups) and competitive markets controlled by private-sector-dominated quangos.

In particular, the squeeze on services is hitting patients. People may be unaware that under the coalition, dozens of Accident & Emergency departments and maternity units have been closed or earmarked for closure or downgrading. In addition, 51 NHS walk-in centres have been closed or downgraded in this time, and more than 60 ambulance stations have shut and more than 100 general practices are at risk of closure.

The core infrastructure of the NHS is also being eroded with the closure of hospitals and thousands of NHS beds since 2010.

Mental health and primary care are faring no better – with both in disarray due to funding cuts and multiple reorganisations driven by ideology, not what works. Public health has been wrenched out of the NHS, where it held the ring for coordinated and equitable services for so long.

In September 2014, the Royal College of General Practitioners said that the wait to see a GP is a “national crisis”.

In England the waiting list to see a specialist stands at 3 million people, and in December 2014 NHS England estimated that nearly 250,000 more patients were waiting for treatment across England who are not on the official waiting list.

Throughout England, patients have been left queueing in ambulances and NHS trusts have resorted to erecting tents in hospital car parks to deal with unmet need.

A&E target waiting times have not been met for a year, and are at the worst levels for more than a decade; and elderly, vulnerable patients are marooned in hospital because our colleagues in social care have no money or staff to provide much-needed services at home.

Funding reductions for local authorities (in some places reductions as high as 40%) have undermined the viability of many local authority social care services across England. This has resulted in more patients arriving at A&E and more patients trapped in hospital as the necessary social care support needed to ensure their safe discharge is no longer there.

The NHS is withering away, and if things carry on as they are then in future people will be denied care they once had under the NHS and have to pay more for health services. Privatisation not only threatens coordinated services but also jeopardises training of our future healthcare providers and medical research, particularly that of public health.

Given the obvious pressures on the NHS over the last five years, and growing public concern that health services now facing a very uncertain future, we are left with little doubt that the current government’s policies have undermined and weakened the NHS.

The way forward is clear: abolish all the damaging sections of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 that fragment care and push the NHS towards a market-driven, “out-for-tender” mentality where care is provided by the lowest bidder. Reversing this costly and inefficient market bureaucracy alone will save significant sums. Above all, the secretary of state’s duty to provide an NHS throughout England must be reinstated, as in Scotland and Wales.

As medical and public health professionals our primary concern is for all patients.

We invite voters to consider carefully how the NHS has fared over the last five years, and to use their vote to ensure that the NHS in England is reinstated.
Dr Sheila Adam former deputy chief medical officer for England
Dr Gwen Adshead consultant psychiatrist
Prof George Alberti emeritus Professor of Medicine, University of Newcastle
Dr James Anderson consultant psychiatrist
Prof Sabarantnam Arulkumaran former president Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Prof John Ashton retired director of public health
Dr Ashok Atrey GP
Dr Helen Bailey physician in Sexual Health and HIV
Dr Arun Bakshi emeritus consultant physician, Isle of Man
Dr JS Bamrah consultant psychiatrist
Mr Dipak Banerjee retired consultant opthalmologist
Dr Roger Banks psychiatrist in intellectual disability, former vice-president Royal College of Psychiatrists
Dr Helen Bantock senior lecturer and consultant paediatrician
Dr David Bareford retired consultant haemotologist
Dr Vijay Bathla GP
Dr Naomi Beer GP partner
Prof Richard Bentall professor of clinical psychology, University of Liverpool
Dr Morris Bernadt retired consultant psychiatrist
Dr Naureen Bhatti GP and associate dean, London Professional Support Unit
Prof Dinesh Bhugra consultant psychiatrist and former president Royal College of Psychiatrists
Dr Christopher Birt University of Liverpool and Christie hospital, Manchester
Dr Kambiz Boomla GP and former chair City and East London Local Medical Committee
Dr Raymond Grown consultant paediatrician
Dr Laurence Buckman GP and former chair UK General Practitioners Committee
Dr Chris Burns-Cox emeritus consultant physician, Bristol
Dr Marta Buszewicz GP and senior lecturer in general practice
Prof Simon Capewell professor of public health, University of Liverpool
Dr Lucy Carterm GP
Dr Lyn Challands retired GP
Professor Sir Iain Chalmers coordinator, James Lind Initiative
Dr Kailash Chand GP and former NHS trust chair
Dr Connie Chen GP clinical lead for prescribing and child health, Central Manchester CCG
Prof Carolyn Chew-Graham
Dr Jonathan Coates GP
Dr Tom Coffee GP
Prof Michael Coleman professor of epidemiology
Prof Peter Crome emeritus professor
Dr Jack Czauderna retired GP
Dr Jonathan Dare retired consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, Maudsley hospital
Dr Paquita de Zulueta honorary senior clinical lecturer, Imperial College London
Dr Nicholas Dennis retired, clinical genetics
Dr EdgarDorman consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, London
Dr Ross Dyer-Smith clinical lead, Lambeth CCG director
Dr David Elliman consultant, community child health
Dr Katrina Erskine consultant gynaecology and obstetrics, Homerton University hospital, London
Dr George Farrelly GP
Dr Katherine Fielder GP
Dr Peter Fisher
Dr Paul Fleming consultant anaesthetist
Dr Lindsay Forbes senior lecturer in cancer and public health
Prof Robbie Foy professor of primary care, University of Leeds
Dr Andrea Franks consultant dermatologist, Chester
Prof Linda Gask emirita professor of primary care psychiatry, University Of Manchester
Dr Clare Gerada GP and former chair, Royal College of General Practitioners
Dr Colin Godber consultant old age psychiatry
Dr Michael Gopfert
Prof Trisha Greenhalgh professor of primary care, University of Oxford
Dr Rex Haigh consultant psychiatrist in medical psychotherapy
Dr Phil Hammond associate specialist paediatric chronic fatigue service, Bath
Dr David Hawkins consultant physician
Dr Iona Heath GP and former president, Royal College Of General Practitioners
Dr Robert Hugo consultant psychiatrist
Dr Christopher Jenkins GP
Prof Roger Jones editor, British Journal of General Practice, emeritus professor of general practice, King’s College, London
Dr Coral Jones GP
Dr Fred Kavalier GP
Dr Mohammed Salah Khalifa GP
Dr Surendra Kumar GP
Dr Dianne Levevre consultant psychiatrist
Dr Jasvinder Singh Lidder consultant psychiatrist
Prof Karina Lovell professor of mental health
Dr Simon Lowes specialist registrar clinical radiology
Dr Sahira Mahmood locum GP
Dr Nick Mann GP and NHS osteopath
Dr Chris Manning convener Action for NHS Wellbeing
Prof Martin McKee professor of European public health
Dr Helene McKeon GP
Dr John Middleton independent public health physician
Dr Sally Mitchison retired consultant psychiatrist
Dr Roger Neigbour GP and former president, Royal College of General Practitioners
Dr Julia Nelki child psychiatrist Cheshire & Wirral Partnership Trust
Dr David Nicholl consultant neurologist
Dr Maureen O’Leary retired consultant psychiatrist
Dr Tony O’Sullivan consultant paediatrician, Kaleidoscope – Lewisham Centre for Children & Young People
Dr Sophia Osbourne GP
Dr David Owen
Dr Tim Paine former president, National Association for Patient Participation
Prof Allyson Pollock professor of public health
Prof Hiliary Powers professor of nutritional biochemistry and head of oncology, University of Sheffield
Dr Umesh Prabhu consultant paediatrician
Dr Shibley Rahman academic in dementia, Primrose Hill
Dr Braham Prashara GP
Dr Dan Rainbow GP and locality commissioner
Dr Paul Revell consultant haematologist
Dr Brian Rossiter retired consultant physician
Dr Yvette Saldanha GP trainer
Dr Alex Samuel senior lecturer in public health, University of Liverpool
Professor Wendy Savage retired senior lecturer in obstetrics and gynaecology
Dr Gabriele Scally public health consultant
Dr Parveen Sharma consultant psychiatrist
Mr Virender Sharma consultant ENT Surgeon
Dr Caroline Shulman GP for homeless and inclusion health, Kings Health Partners
Dr Kamal Sidhu GP
Dr Martin Siebert GP
Dr Surinder Singh GP
Dr Francis Skiffington retired consultant community paediatrican
Dr Alison Smailes GP
Mr Virender Soni ophthalmologist
Dr John Sweeney consultant physicia
Prof Raymond Tallis emeritus professor of geriatric medicine, University of Manchester
Dr Jonathon Tomlinson GP
Dr Charlie Tomson consultant nephrologist
Dr David Tomson GP
Dr Norman Traub former consultant haematologist, Southend hospital
Dr Asha Umrawsingh emergency care doctor, Lewisham University hospital
Dr Devaraja Vedakkalur GP
Dr Ian Walton GP
Dr Fiona Watson GP
Dr Eric Watts retired consultant haemotologist and clinical director
Prof Jonathon Weber professor of infectious diseases, Imperial College London
Dr Tara Weeramanthri GP
Dr Sian Williams consultant in occupational medicine
Dr David Wrigley GP
Dr Luke Zander retired GP




Watching the news tonight, NHS in a terrible state.

So 100 doctors out of 267,146.
Not very impressive really when you think about it

Doctors and medical staff all over the country are so incenced about what is happening that they have formed their own political party and are standing for Parliament.   When has that ever happened before.

NHA Party Election Campaign launch: leader urges public – ‘vote not just for the NHS but for the sort of society you want to live in’

The National Health Action Party launched its general election campaign today with 13 candidates and a call to the public to vote not just for the NHS but for the sort of society they want to live in.

Founded less than three years ago, the Party brings together doctors, nurses, paramedics, NHS staff and ordinary members of the public who are fighting the Coalition government's disastrous NHS "reforms" and are determined to change the direction of travel of the NHS: away from privatisation and under-funding and back to the fair and equitable public institution that consistently tops the list of things that make us feel proud to be British.

The NHA Party will be fielding 13 candidates at the general election which, NHA co-founder Dr Clive Peedell says is “not just about the NHS but the kind of society we want to live in.”

With the NHS at the top of the political agenda, and with every party now clamouring to portray themselves as the NHS's new best friend, the National Health Action Party wants electors to know just how far that is from the truth.

The 13 candidates are standing primarily against prominent Coalition MPs and ministers; two are challenging sitting Labour MPs and the NHA has candidates in the politically-charged constituency of Stafford and in the 5th most marginal seat in the country, Oxford West & Abingdon.

NHA Party candidates gathered at Westminster today accompanied by a campaign “ambulance” that will be travelling around the country. First stop will be South West Surrey, where Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is facing GP Dr Louise Irvine – this time at the ballot box, after losing spectacularly to her in the courts over his plans to downgrade facilities at Lewisham Hospital.

Co-founder of the Party Dr Richard Taylor, already twice elected as an MP, will again stand under the banner of Independent Community & Health Concern, which is affiliated to the NHA Party.

Dr Peedell, a cancer specialist and running against David Cameron in Witney, said:

"We have a small number of high-quality candidates, committed, passionate and knowledgeable about the NHS. We and they are fighting to give the NHS a voice in Parliament that is free from party political point-scoring and misguided assumptions about what we can and can't afford. Our focus is on what’s best for people, not politicians or political parties. The current spectacle of political parties trying to outbid each other with last-minute NHS bribes to voters is unedifying and I'm sure the public won't fall for it.

“But our fight goes much broader than that. It's what Michael Sheen has been so eloquently talking about over recent days - and it's why his comments have hit such a public nerve.

“Our bigger fight is about the sort of society we want to live in. ‎The way a society delivers its healthcare reflects the values and nature of that society and the people who live in it. The way our political leaders are behaving, fawning to the nasty voices in our society, is moving us towards a society based on fear and self-interest. We don't believe the majority of people want this sort of society. They want a society based on fairness, equality of opportunity and compassion.

“This can’t be achieved until the austerity agenda pursued by this government is abandoned. Austerity is a recipe for widening wealth and health inequality and is leading to the fracturing of our society. We must fight to reverse this destructive trend which disproportionately punishes the poorest and most vulnerable in our society.

“Of course we are realistic about our chances and to get even one MP poses a monumental challenge. But if we did succeed in getting one or two MPs, it would be a huge victory for people power and it would send a crucially important message about the future direction of our NHS, our society and our country. “

Dr Richard Taylor said:

​"I'm living proof that people are willing to put health first in an election. There's been much childish debate about 'weaponising' the NHS. ‎The only weapon anyone should be talking about is the ballot box. That's the ultimate weapon for ordinary people. They must use the ballot box to punish the government and send a strong message to all parties that they've had enough of our NHS being run down and sold off.

“The prospect of a hung Parliament could put MPs who are independent of the main parties in a very powerful position whoever forms the next government."






The NHA Party now boasts nearly five thousand members, 6​5,000 Twitter followers and has been ranked the most Facebook-engaged political party.​

The Party says it’s making a stand against creeping NHS privatisation, under-funding, and disastrous reforms, recently condemned by a leading health think-tank as "damaging and distracting” and dismissed even by Tory insiders as “unintelligible gobbledygook".

NHA candidates are calling for the implementation of the NHS Reinstatement Bill; a halt to NHS privatisation; a moratorium on local A&E and hospital closures and an end to flat-line NHS funding and service cuts. The Party is also highlighting the need for increased provision for General Practice and Mental Health. It opposes the damaging Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The Party says public health and wellbeing must be a priority of all policies. It demands an end to austerity policies; new measures to tackle the housing crisis; a more accountable EU and parliamentary reform that will stop conflicts of interest corrupting MPs' decision-making.

The NHA Party is regularly quoted in the media, from the Financial Times, the Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror​ ​and the Independent, to the Spectator, New Statesman and Huffington Post. NHA spokespeople have appeared on a range of TV and radio programmes including BBC TV Six & 10 o’clock news, ITV news, the Today programme, The World at One,​ PM, the BBC News Channel, BBC Daily​ ​and Sunday Politics show​s, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky News, 5live, You & Yours, LBC, The World Tonight and numerous local BBC radio stations. You can check these all out here: http://nhap.org/nha-in-the-news/.​ Even Russell Brand is talking about the NHA Party: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLowOw8pIY0&sns=fb  (6:40 in).

​NHA Party's Action Plan for the NHS: http://nhap.org/action-plan/

NHA Party policies:  http://nhap.org/our-policies-1/

http://nhap.org/nha-party-election-campaign-launch-leader-urges-public-vote-not-just-nhs-sort-society-want-live/



I never thought I would see the day when the NHS was so under attack.   The top-down organisation that Cameron promised before the last election was not going to happen, and then did it as soon as he got it, just another of his lies, has been a total disaster.

I never thought I would see the day this forum turned into just spamming with little debate.

Brasidas wrote:So 100 doctors out of 267,146.
Not very impressive really when you think about it

Well most rational people do not want the Tories to ruin the NHS again. Its simple really as the Tories are mistrusted by the majority of the populace to run the NHS
These are simple facts and a bit like the 100 odd businessmen that said they supported the government.

Irn Bru wrote:

Brasidas wrote:So 100 doctors out of 267,146.
Not very impressive really when you think about it

Well most rational people do not want the Tories to ruin the NHS again. Its simple really as the Tories are mistrusted by the majority of the populace to run the NHS
These are simple facts and a bit like the 100 odd businessmen that said they supported the government.

Subjective as to what constitutes rational on any level.
So your view is once again idiotic
The fact is that it was Labour that started to privatise the NHS.
Enough said to what Labour would do to the NHS, plus I have actually worked for them, so on all fronts you have not a scooby doo what you are talking about

Brasidas wrote:

Irn Bru wrote:

Brasidas wrote:So 100 doctors out of 267,146.
Not very impressive really when you think about it

Well most rational people do not want the Tories to ruin the NHS again. Its simple really as the Tories are mistrusted by the majority of the populace to run the NHS
These are simple facts and a bit like the 100 odd businessmen that said they supported the government.

Subjective as to what constitutes rational on any level.
So your view is once again idiotic
The fact is that it was Labour that started to privatise the NHS.
Enough said to what Labour would do to the NHS, plus I have actually worked for them, so on all fronts you have not a scooby doo what you are talking about

So the same will apply on the 100 odd businessmen supporting the Tories then because these words I have written are your words other than changing a couple of details,

Labour are trusted more on the NHS than the Tories are,,,,,correct?

Irn Bru wrote:

Brasidas wrote:

Subjective as to what constitutes rational on any level.
So your view is once again idiotic
The fact is that it was Labour that started to privatise the NHS.
Enough said to what Labour would do to the NHS, plus I have actually worked for them, so on all fronts you have not a scooby doo what you are talking about

So the same will apply on the 100 odd businessmen supporting the Tories then because these words I have written are your words other than changing a couple of details,

Labour are trusted more on the NHS than the Tories are,,,,,correct?

Not at all, where doctors will specialise in many different fields many of them clearly are not buisness men or have any idea on how to run a business, what they specialise in is health care and patients lives. So the two views of people are very different, or do you not see the difference?

Brasidas wrote:

Irn Bru wrote:

Brasidas wrote:

Subjective as to what constitutes rational on any level.
So your view is once again idiotic
The fact is that it was Labour that started to privatise the NHS.
Enough said to what Labour would do to the NHS, plus I have actually worked for them, so on all fronts you have not a scooby doo what you are talking about

So the same will apply on the 100 odd businessmen supporting the Tories then because these words I have written are your words other than changing a couple of details,

Labour are trusted more on the NHS than the Tories are,,,,,correct?

Not at all, where doctors will specialise in many different fields many of them clearly are not buisness men or have any idea on how to run a business, what they specialise in is health care and patients lives. So the two views of people are very different, or do you not see the difference?

Doctors are well equiped to see the effects of what is happening in the NHS and have put their name to this letter so they are better informed than you even if you did work in the NHS, although you don't say in which capacity.

And Labour are trusted more on the NHS than the Tories are,,,,,correct?

Irn Bru wrote:

Brasidas wrote:

Not at all, where doctors will specialise in many different fields many of them clearly are not buisness men or have any idea on how to run a business, what they specialise in is health care and patients lives. So the two views of people are very different, or do you not see the difference?

Doctors are well equiped to see the effects of what is happening in the NHS and have put their name to this letter so they are better informed than you even if you did work in the NHS, although you don't say in which capacity.

And Labour are trusted more on the NHS than the Tories are,,,,,correct?

No they are not that effective on business being again I have worked with them and again why the NHS has for years run badly by those who have medical experince and no business experince. It is why the cost has spirralled out of control.
So you have no idea what you are talking about and clearly I doubt anyone would hire such a person to run their business.
What about public opinion, are you going to tell me the next the majority of the German populace in 1933 were right to support Hitler?