Thursday, July 17, 2008

All Quiet on the NHS Front

Drs Crippen and Rant have posted nothing about the Department of Health (DoH) and the National Health Service for almost all of two weeks.

Has the DoH gone on recess? Taking its holidays? The Secretrary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, is strangely silent. Is he on holiday? Under-secretary Ben Bradshaw is left as spokesperson for the DoH.

The UK Parliament doesn't seem to have broken up for its summer holidays yet - Harriet Harman, Deputy PM, filled in for PM Gordon Brown during Parliamentary Question Time last week whilst he attended a G8 "Summit".

The latest patient survey of GPs shows satisfaction with GP opening/access time by a decrease from 84% to 82%, even though GP access time has increased by 24%. However, it also shows that patient satisfaction with other GP services has increased. Ben Bradshaw praised the report. Now the government is going to make the GP survey quarterly - will either the GPs or the patients appreciate this?

I look at the BBC UK and Health website pages everyday. Right now, nothing on the DoH and the NHS except doctors accused ofeuthenasia and/or other malpractice (amputating left- hand instead of the right). Nothing on the Darzi Report - can anybody, including Members of Parliament (and myself) be bothered to read it? Can anybody?. Nothing on the British Medical Association's annual conference last week.

My children break-up for school holidays tomorrow ((Thursday).

Drs. Crippen and Rant seem lost for words and can only post about rogue entreprenurial doctors.

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