“There is one thing worse than a regulated health market and thats an unregulated market” stated leaders of Labour’s longstanding health affiliate, the Socialist Health Association.
The move by the Government to abolish NHS England, which follows the announcement of plans to slash funding for Integrated Care Boards (which buy local health services with our taxes) will remove the remaining enfeebled public controls on health provision.
There are certainly to be significant redundancy costs.
Alan Milburn, the New Labour former minister who joined the Department of Health and Social Care’s board just in November to drive plans for ‘pro-market reform’ will be empowered. The abolition of the NHS England quango risks giving a progressive sheen to reactionary policies – a future of the NHS not as a public service provider but as a brokering system for health corporations will be further strengthened.
One set of bureaucratic structures is being abolished but instead of returning the NHS to being a fully public service control is being passed to appointees in DHSC who are keen to turn it into a commissioning service. There are of course still semi independent NHS Foundation Trusts which will compete in this market but where money can be made they will gradually be replaced by health corporations.
It has never been more important for Labour and union members to speak out and organise to defend the NHS as a public service.
Socialist Health Association.