Madam, – In the face of unprecedented economic pressures in both countries it is, perhaps, instructive to compare the current attitude of the UK health secretary and our own Minister for Health towards general practitioners.
In England Alan Lansley has formally decreed that general practitioners are the professionals best able to oversee direct control of the majority of future NHS budgets because “they know what’s best for patients”. Simultaneously, large swathes of useless middle management bureaucracy are to be dismantled as part of this proposed strategic shift.
In the Republic, for the past five years Mary Harney has refused to even meet formally general practitioners, citing competition law difficulties (despite the Taoiseach promising publicly 18 months ago to amend the law). She would appear to be embarking on another series of funding cuts to general practice which, without doubt, will cause major cutbacks to patient care in the one frontline health service currently working relatively effectively.
She would appear content for general practitioners to continue working to a 40-year-old contract which patently doesn’t serve the needs of herself, patients or doctors. Middle management action/inaction which serves no useful purpose other than to maintain (over)employment continues to spread like a cancer throughout the health service.
Which country do you believe has some chance of emerging from its current economic difficulties with a somewhat intact and functioning health service? – Yours, etc,