“One more term of Tory government after this should be enough to see off the NHS. It will not collapse overnight and Ministers will not announce is abolition. Rather, it will go the way of dental services, where more and more practioners went private until, in some areas, it has become almost impossible to find an NHS dentist.
In a few days, a doctor’s conference will debate a motion calling on the British Medical Association to consider how GPs “can be supported……………within a private, alternative model”. Nothing may come of this motion. and doctors won’t walk out en masse. But some time over the next few years, without anybody really noticing, significant numbers of GPs will start to charge for at least some services. The numbers will grow, as will the charges. The NHS will not die with a bang but fade away with a whimper.”
Peter Wilby – New Statesman 3-9 November 2017
This warning must act as a challenge to ensure our precious NHS receives adequate support and funding