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| How best to ensure the future of the NHS | How best to ensure the future of the NHS |
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| Letters | |
| Wed 10 Jan 2018 19.52 GMT | |
| Last modified on Wed 10 Jan 2018 22.00 GMT | |
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| Polly Toynbee (Opinion, 9 January) refers to a “sinister phalanx of Tory lobbies” pressing for “a royal commission on NHS funding”, with ourselves at the head – with a secret agenda to “demolish” the principle of a universal health service. This is impressively wrong. The call by Maurice Saatchi – the chairman of our thinktank – for a royal commission has been echoed by many medical professionals, as well as such non-Tory figures as Alan Milburn and Norman Lamb, both former health ministers. Our proposal states explicitly and repeatedly that the founding principles of the NHS must be respected, and fully accepts that additional funding will be needed: all we ask is that the commission examines alternatives for this beyond general taxation, for the simple reason that the public will almost certainly be reluctant, or simply unable, to pay the colossal amounts required on current trends. | Polly Toynbee (Opinion, 9 January) refers to a “sinister phalanx of Tory lobbies” pressing for “a royal commission on NHS funding”, with ourselves at the head – with a secret agenda to “demolish” the principle of a universal health service. This is impressively wrong. The call by Maurice Saatchi – the chairman of our thinktank – for a royal commission has been echoed by many medical professionals, as well as such non-Tory figures as Alan Milburn and Norman Lamb, both former health ministers. Our proposal states explicitly and repeatedly that the founding principles of the NHS must be respected, and fully accepts that additional funding will be needed: all we ask is that the commission examines alternatives for this beyond general taxation, for the simple reason that the public will almost certainly be reluctant, or simply unable, to pay the colossal amounts required on current trends. |
| Nor is our proposal limited to NHS funding alone, as Polly also suggests: we argue that a royal commission should examine the alarming gap in health outcomes between rich and poor, the linkages between health and social care, the case for and against greater private sector involvement, and so on. There are millions who do not have the choice to opt out. We owe it to them to work out what the NHS could be doing better – and to put it on a sustainable footing for the coming decades. Robert ColvileDirector, Centre for Policy Studies | Nor is our proposal limited to NHS funding alone, as Polly also suggests: we argue that a royal commission should examine the alarming gap in health outcomes between rich and poor, the linkages between health and social care, the case for and against greater private sector involvement, and so on. There are millions who do not have the choice to opt out. We owe it to them to work out what the NHS could be doing better – and to put it on a sustainable footing for the coming decades. Robert ColvileDirector, Centre for Policy Studies |
| • “I want to help people feel better when they are at their most vulnerable.” This is perhaps the most frequently used phrase at medical school interviews. Thousands of prospective medical students who apply each year to our medical schools are expressing their motivation to help and contribute. They have a deep desire to better the society in which they live, to bring relief to pain and suffering and to care for the people who need it the most. They are committed to this cause because their ambitions are sincere. | • “I want to help people feel better when they are at their most vulnerable.” This is perhaps the most frequently used phrase at medical school interviews. Thousands of prospective medical students who apply each year to our medical schools are expressing their motivation to help and contribute. They have a deep desire to better the society in which they live, to bring relief to pain and suffering and to care for the people who need it the most. They are committed to this cause because their ambitions are sincere. |
| Now, as the NHS faces one of its toughest winters yet, we students are shocked by what we see. We look at our colleagues working desperately hard in a struggling system, we see how they despair as they see patients being failed. Longer trolley waits, delayed discharges and cancelled operations. No one can deny the deep sense of loss of hope for a future spent in a fulfilling career where there’s adequate time and resources to look after patients in the way they deserve. As the doctors of the future, our ask is simple. It’s for a system where we can offer patients dignity and hope, and fulfil the dreams that made us embark on this journey.Mita Dhullipala and Harrison CarterCo-chairs, BMA medical students committee | Now, as the NHS faces one of its toughest winters yet, we students are shocked by what we see. We look at our colleagues working desperately hard in a struggling system, we see how they despair as they see patients being failed. Longer trolley waits, delayed discharges and cancelled operations. No one can deny the deep sense of loss of hope for a future spent in a fulfilling career where there’s adequate time and resources to look after patients in the way they deserve. As the doctors of the future, our ask is simple. It’s for a system where we can offer patients dignity and hope, and fulfil the dreams that made us embark on this journey.Mita Dhullipala and Harrison CarterCo-chairs, BMA medical students committee |
| • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com | • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com |
| • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters | • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters |
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