Demonstrations continue against Tory ‘downskilling’ of the NHS to increase profits
Members of the Merseyside Pensioners Association (MPA) joined health workers on Tuesday to protest outside a meeting of the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care (ICS) board meeting against plans to cut NHS costs by reducing skill levels in the health service in a copy of unequal and heavily-privatised US healthcare.
The protest and meeting were held at the Floral Pavilion in Wirral’s New Brighton. The MPA joined a large crowd of Wirral Clinical Support workers and Unison members who have been demanding better pay. MPA members were protesting against the downskilling of medical professionals – a move under the so-called NHS Workforce Plan to replace doctors, midwives, nurses, anaesthetists and other highly-qualified workers with cheaper, less qualified staff to pad NHS staff numbers and reduce wage cost, allowing private health companies to provide services at greater profit.
One MPA campaigner told Skwawkbox:
Forcing or encouraging staff to work beyond their competencies is dangerous for patients and staff. NHS campaigners have been highlighting downskilling, professional deregulation, working beyond competencies and similar government moves for several years. It is not accidental, nor is it a response to “shortages of doctors”, “ageing population “, “bed blocking” or “underfunding” – these terms are all propaganda put out to justify the deliberate systematic destruction and withdrawal of the NHS to benefit big business & increase profit.
Some of us went into the meeting, raised questions about the difficulty and hostile processes involved in booking a GP appointment, the difficulty getting to see an actual GP rather than a Physician Associate [a position carrying out medical duties with only two years’ basic training] or other staff member and the lack of continuity that means we rarely see the same person twice.
We told the Board that we want to see fully-qualified medical professionals, that the right people with the right skills for the right job are fully-qualified doctors, anaesthetists etc. The Assistant CEO told us they have bought a new ‘cloud telephony’ service but that there won’t be any increase in GPs or Practitioners in GP surgeries, therefore we assume no increase in appointments either!
So the response appears to be they’ll just move the deckchairs on the Titanic around in a different manner! A longwinded way of saying they had wasted money on a new phone service presumably so you can more easily be told there are no GP appointments. At the ICS Annual General Meeting/ICB meeting last year an actual GP pointed out that without more GPs/appointments, changing the telephone system wasn’t going to help.
A further campaign meeting will take place on Friday 23 Feb at Liverpool’s socialist bar, the Casa:
The government’s use of ‘associates’ instead of fully-qualified medics has already been linked by coroners to at least two avoidable deaths.
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Anti-patient, Anti-doctor, Pro-profit. Thank you MPA for highlighting this fierce but furtive attack on a free-at-the-point-of-use NHS, on doctors and on patients.
The highly-politicised NHS Exec is, of course, facilitating this assault on the ability of the NHS to undertake world-class patient diagnosis (just like it did with the massively orchestrated covid deception). American health corporations – including the ones currently donating to Streeting and Starmer – are the only beneficiaries of this anti-patient, anti-doctor policy.
There are currently c 4,000 physician associates (PAs) working in England and Wales. There will be 10,000 by the end of the next financial year. The next government will probably see see more PAs than GPs providing healthcare in the NHS – and this is exactly what its likely Health Secretary wants.
Do NOT vote Labour.
Such a vote would be genuinely suicidal. Our NHS is already on its knees and up here mental health, physios etc are disappearing. Do not vote for Labour.
Where is Herr Starmer and the rest of the LP junta in terms of even arguing against this dangerous nonsense – never mind actually turning up in solidarity?
Oh, yeah! I forgot. Coming out publicly against the use of unskilled, poorly trained, low paid and therefore incompetent people undertaking medical diagnosis and treatment of real people and therefore risking the lives of the populace who need proper medical attention by professionally trained and skilled medics is considered “student politics” by these arrogant, ignorant dolts and their cheerleaders.
Cheerleaders who clearly consider such notions of proper and trained professional care as “not credible” whenever they are articulated. What sort of sorry excuses for human beings spend their time trying to promote and achieve outcomes which risk the lives of their neighbours?
This is pure Mandelson wet dream policy.
“Where is Herr Starmer and the rest of the LP junta in terms of even arguing against this dangerous nonsense …?”
No-where Dave. They need it to succeed. Labour’s heallthcare corporations donations necessitate it.
Claudia Webbe explained it yesterday in a MS article*:
“…later this month the House of Lords will vote on a “fatal motion” to kill the statutory instrument. Tragically for patients, any chance of the motion succeeding depends on support from Labour.
“Keir Starmer and his health team have promised more private involvement in the NHS, refused to commit to overturning spending cuts and supported the so-called NHS Long Term Workforce Plan of which the trebling and expansion of associates forms part. There is no reason to think they will support the fatal motion….”
Physician Associates are not a Conservative creation. They were introduced to the NHS in 2007 by New Labour. Starmer, Streeting and Reeves intend for their use to increase. It’s Mission Critical for them.
__
* https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/backdoor-changes-medical-associate-roles-are-intended-confuse-and-increase-profits
My home town….Didn’t know anything about this, and I’ve just been about 250yds away doing some shopping less than an hour ago. Would’ve come along to lend me support had I known 😕
Where’s the BMA on this, seems strange them not defending the hierarchy in the NHS
Where’s the God complex when you need it, they can’t all be on the Golf course
Don’t be silly. What do you think lodges are for. Golf clubs are for the lower rankers.
Nurse Practitioner is the original Trojan horse and it works very well, most have at some point in their careers specialised in certain areas which makes them the resident experts in a particular GP practice
For roughly a third of the cost
GP’s are Jack of all Trades, there knowledge base is built up over decades serving their communities
Excellent Results for Labour
Huge swing to Labour in Wellingborough
The swing to Labour in Wellingborough was a whopping 29%.
Gen Kitchen (Lab) 13,844 (45.92%, +19.46%)
Helen Harrison (Conservative) 7,408 (24.57%, -37.60%)
Ben Habib (Reform) 3,919 (13.00%)
Ana Savage Gunn (LD) 1,422 (4.72%, -3.14%)
Marion Turner-Hawes (ND) 1,115 (3.70%)
Will Morris (Green) 1,020 (3.38%, -0.12%)
Kev Watts (Ind) 533 (1.77%)
Alex Merola (Britain 1st) 477 (1.58%)
Nick The Flying Brick (Loony) 217 (0.72%)
Andre Pyne-Bailey (Ind) 172 (0.57%)
Ankit Love Jay Mala (ND) 18 (0.06%)
Kingswood results in full
Damien Egan (Lab) 11,176 (44.94%, +11.50%)
Sam Bromiley (Conservative) 8,675 (34.88%, -21.31%)
Rupert Lowe (Reform) 2,578 (10.37%)
Lorraine Francis (Green) 1,450 (5.83%, +3.40%)
Andrew Brown (LD) 861 (3.46%, -3.48%)
Nicholas Wood (UKIP) 129 (0.52%)
…..but not for the Country and the people who reside in it.
For those of a certain age this is like listening to some nine year old waxing lyrical about how good the football results are for Don Revie’s Leeds.
It really is no good desperately virtue signalling about genocide whilst at the same time cheering like you are at the Kop end for those who are openly supporting, aiding, and abetting that genocide – along with other dangerous unworkable policies.
We see you for what you are Billy. A lower level version of what is described here:
https://sonar21.com/the-narcissistic-western-elites-an-operations-manual/
Who was the left’s candidate?
Do at least try and make some kind of effort to keep up with reality Billy:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68292736
The Uni-party does not permit any non-Official Narratives and those who espouse them at any point within the political system.
Don’t mention Bertie Mee.
Nothing excellent about them.
Except in one respect. The time it took to announce the votes in two separate elections following the closure of the polling booths at 22:00 hours. Which includes the time taken to transport all the ballot boxes from various separate polling stations to a central counting facility; the counting itself; the official announcement at each location; the publication and dissemination of that information; and the re-posting of it at 00:41 hours..
Just over two and half hours – bearing in mind the four hour time difference between GMT and the (alleged) Caribbean – is not to be sneezed at Toffee.
I’ll wager Kleenex and Andrex shares went up after that session last night.
Dave – Oh dear, are you getting confused?
“Confused” about what exactly, wee man?
AFAIK, Dave’s fully aware that there’s zero difference betwixt toerag and smarmerist policies, so there’s nowt for him to be “confused” about.
…Unless, of course, you want to list these alleged stark contrasts?
Toffee – Oh dear, another one. Is being confused endemic amongst your version of ‘the left’?
I suggest you re-read Dave’s comment at 9:44am. 🥱
Things are really dire when you are expected to actually write the words ‘Sarcasm Alert’ for these little snowflakes.
Billy will be asking for yet another Janet and John next.
You just can ‘t get the bleedin’ staff these days.
Dave – Where’s the sarcasm, all I can see is a your silly comment is a load of confused gibberish
The lobsters are clacking with glee. Well it looks like glee which looks like gluten. Anyway way I never leave the house without a big bag of gluten. Chuck in a six foot circle around you. Vampires and corona can’t enter the circle. Glee acts the same with logic.
Right on cue, as usual. An oblique demand for a Janet and John.
Just soooooo predictable Billy.
Do you write this ‘patter’ yourself or are you buying it off the internet?
Dave – Oh dear, how disappointing. 😞
Is that really the best you could manage to come up with?
alexanderscottish, now you are just being plain cruel. Are you trying to make Billy’s head explode?
Dave – You’re the one who is desperately trying to cope with the insecurities brought on by your manifestly obvious inability to explain the gibberish that you wrote earlier whilst clinging onto your dilutions about how clever you are.
All I’ve done is ask you to clarify one of your earlier posts.
Toffee – I’ve already admitted that I think it is unintelligible gibberish, Hence my request for a clarification.
I’ve already admitted that I think it is unintelligible gibberish, Hence my request for a clarification
Toffee – What a disappointment. 😞
I’ve already admitted that I think it is unintelligible gibberish, Hence my request for a clarification.
Given your staunch defence of Dave and his obvious inability to clarify his own comments I was rather hoping that you might be able to help him out
” a load of confused gibberish”.
Tell us, genial one, what’sconfused about it?
It’s confused you. Which doesn’t take much really, so no need for me to congratulate Dave.
And as much as I really dislike you, I have to concede that I’m still uncertain as to whether it’s really very sporting of you to repeatedly visit the site to post your noncence (sic), only to leave again, wearing your arse for a hat, with or without your awareness.
…Or whether you knowingly practice it as some sort of masochism.
Toffee – Is this childish nonsense all you’ve got to offer?
Instead of behaving as if you are still in the playground why don’t you grow up a bit and attempt to explain Dave’s 9:44sm post for him
That your way of wriggling out of admitting that Dave’s completely flummoxed you?
I don’t need to explain on Dave’s behalf; he’s more than capable of explaining himself.
Not that his post needs explanation…except to you. Mighty sporting of you to prove my point without realizing it, though 👍😉
Toffee – Nothing to do with Dave’s post being gibberish then?
As stated, not for me to explain Dave’s post.
But you should.
Toffee – Sorry, WordPress seems to have a mind of its own today. See above
https://skwawkbox.org/2024/02/13/merseysiders-protest-government-moves-to-replace-skilled-medics-with-less-skilled/#comment-252789
SteveH17/02/2024 AT 2:01 PM
Toffee – I’ve already admitted that I think it is unintelligible gibberish, Hence my request for a clarification.
SteveH17/02/2024 AT 2:04 PM
I’ve already admitted that I think it is unintelligible gibberish, Hence my request for a clarification
SteveH17/02/2024 AT 2:13 PM
Toffee – What a disappointment. 😞
I’ve already admitted that I think it is unintelligible gibberish, Hence my request for a clarification.
Well burger me….if the bot hasn’t malfunctioned??!!
“WordPress seems to have a mind of it’s own today”
Oh, ok, chief.
…Job’s a good ‘un. 👍😉
https://y.yarn.co/cf7ed4f7-2a7d-47c8-a30a-13b8e45b1a80_text.gif