A big warning to every site member

[bobski1]

Most of you are aware that changes are happening within the NHS But I would think very few of you are aware that lobbyists from American companies are trying to take over healthcare in the UK . This could mean you will pay for most of the treatment,drugs,doctors visits ,hospital stays ,beds /food in hospitals ,use of MRI scans the list goes on and on . Do you want this to happen in any form ? If not there are 2 things you can do to make your opinion heard . First ,get onto your MP as soon as you have read this using this. Theyworkforyou.com this is totally independant of government or sign the petition on 38degrees to stop this happening

[helixhelix]

Apologies to our USA members, but the thought of the US having anything to do with our health care is horrific. The NHS is not perfect by any means, but the US profit based approach can only make things worse. Also things like having to accept food imports from the US that are way below our current health and safety standards scares me.

[Hidden in reply to helixhelix]

Totally agree! The NHS might be creaking but it belongs to us and must be cared for appropriately.

[dtech]

What are your sources to substantiate this?

[AnneField]

Could we have some more information please? For starters, a link to the petitions would be helpful as there is no way of finding them. Also, what is the evidence for this? Are there any definitive articles you could link to? Cheers.

[nablur]

Whaaat? That sounds so ridiculous. Sorry. Can’t be true.

[Someonesmother]

We are having the same issue in Australia. Those rampant liberals (read ultra right wing conservatives) want to privatise everything at the expense of our universal health care. It has already started here and people are going without Dr visits, scans and drugs as they can't afford it.

[Hidden in reply to Someonesmother]

Hello Somonesmother and a big welcome from Adelaide, where are you from? Cheers Deb

[Someonesmother in reply to Hidden]

Canberra. I have been a member for a few years now. It has been a long and arduous journey which doesn't seem to be abating heheheh

[Hidden in reply to Someonesmother]

Good to meet another Aussie. As for the journey, if I had to rely on information sites in Australia, I’d still be wailing. Thank goodness for NRAS, is all I can say

[Someonesmother in reply to Hidden]

Yep there was nothing when I started looking 6 1/2 years ago. I found this site and thank heavens becuase it has kept me sane through some very torrid times, which don't seem like they will be abating.

[helixhelix]

There's been hints about this idea for a long time, but more recently there's been a report from a conservative think tank that states re the US involvement in UK healthcare, "As for other services areas, health services are an area where both sides would benefit from openness to foreign competition, although we recognize any changes to existing regulations will be extremely controversial." (p. 228). So may well be becoming conservative policy some day soon.

mirror.co.uk/news/politics/...

independent.co.uk/news/uk/p...

thetimes.co.uk/article/f66b...

[cathie in reply to helixhelix]

Thanks for this timely warning. It might also be worth pointing out that the NHS in Scotland is run differently than in other parts of the UK and we have a lot to lose.

[DiHi]

Fake news! Of course the manufacturers of medicine are founded in the USA, but, they’re main, if only concern is making money.

[Liberty43 in reply to DiHi]

Hope it is fake news. It’s what the think tank is pushing right now. I am 75 and worried. Maybe we all should be.

[Mmrr in reply to DiHi]

It is not fake news, the NHS is already under great threat of privatisation , with many services already outsourced to private, money making companies.

[bobski1 in reply to DiHi]

No it is far from fake news I only wish it was

[kaypiercy]

Thanks very much for pointing this out, I have read the article in the Times and looks like it's true the Tories are going to sell us down the river, it's what Brexit is all about, more investment opportunities for the super rich, can only hope for an early election or second referendum to secure our valued NHS or we will soon be paying for our health care. Chlorinated chicken anybody?

best wishes to all

Kay

[Nurseratchette]

Hi

I work in the NHS and we have been trying to fight this also. It is NOT fake news and we have marched parliament on this. Beware if people don’t sit up and take note our NHS will be gone before we know it!!! Please also be aware this is not about political affiliations as regardless what party is in government they will continue with this plan

[Hidden in reply to Nurseratchette]

What can we do to safeguard the NHS, or let everyone know its at such risk? I am aware of all the subtle privatisation with out sourcing.

[Nurseratchette in reply to Hidden]

Write to your MP and share on social media tell people

[Stephenlangtonriley in reply to Nurseratchette]

We have a lot of it already, trailers parked in hospital car parks with MRI kit for weekend scans, I personally know of 3 hospitals where I had scans in south west London that do it, what about saving the equipment money and using the kit already in the hospital and just getting the people needed, then we may get some badly needed, if expensive, car parking back as well.

[Hidden]

I will write to my MP or go to a surgery. This site is the only social media site I am interested in.

[DiHi]

A lot of services in the NHS are out-sourced,the cleaning for example,the employees are often from outside the UK-thank goodness after Brexit, they and their families will continue to be welcomed

[Nurseratchette in reply to DiHi]

Yes I agree there already services in the hospital and community that are run by private companies ie virgin health and although the effects of this is not widely seen people have been affected by this ie having to travel further or not able to access them.

[dembonesDAMNBONES in reply to DiHi]

Therein, lies a little surprise.

Trace these 'cleaning companies' back to source, Cordia, etc, and you find they are linking to larger companies (Transport, road and motorway maintenance and repairs, etc) and they, in turn, etc.

At the top of the chain are a couple of families.

Osbourne, (5th cousin to Elizabeth Regina II) former Chancelor of the Exchequer's family sit up there, as does another relative of his' (Forget his name, but he's even closer, being 4th cousin to the Queen!) family, titled and stinking rich.

A nice little racket.

We, as the govt, will privatise and you, through a series of fronts will get the contracts.

Keeping it in the families.

[AgedCrone]

This sort of scare has been doing the rounds for many years.....& it still hasn't happened.

In fact if somebody had a few hours to spare they would probably find all sorts of overseas companies are providing services to the NHS right now.

Not to mention the number of overseas personnel providing treatment.

Contracts are outsourced & the best value provider is chosen....to provide the needed service.....no matter their nationality.But patients still receive their treatment free at point of use.

These foreign companies have no power over the NHS......It is merely their customer.

I would think most US Medical Insurance companies would always price themselves out of providing any type of control of the NHS. No political party would chance losing votes that way.

I have had NHS scans at a private hospital because the local health authority awarded that hospital that contract....they no longer have it....so who knows who is providing it to the NHS now? Hopefully someone just as good but cheaper. Although procurement services in the NHS do need attention.

If we want to keep our NHS free at the point of use, we have to move with the times, & as long as the service provided is first class it surely doesn't matter the nationality of the provider? Many scans these days are electronically sent abroad to be read, as we don't have enough qualified doctors to read them here.

This won't mean Foreign control over the original NHS intention back in 1947,o that health care would be available to all who paid NI contributions.

However, unless funding, including our contributions, are gradually increased, there will be no health service at all & that is when the US or any other country could swoop in.

Hopefull those trying to keep our NHS running smoothly will take note of public petitions & it will still be around for many years, maybe a little different, definitely integrated with social care, but still fit for purpose for everybody entitled to receive NHS treatment.

[helixhelix in reply to AgedCrone]

I slightly disagree with you AC. Yes there have been loads of outsourcing of contracts across the private sector, not just NHS, over last 20+ years. The possible trade deal with the US could take things in a completely new direction where powers are lost, so it is a rather different worry.

[AgedCrone in reply to helixhelix]

As long as whoever deals with DT understands where he is coming from things should not get too out of hand. I'm not too politically inclined, but I do think there just might not be enough "nous" on our side to achieve that!

But once we are "Britaxed" I'm hoping countries all,over the world, who envy our NHS might actually want our expertise ........surely no one would voluntarily opt for the US Health Care System?

I'm not up to speed on US Health Care these days, but family I have over there say it is getting more expensive every year.

[Nurseratchette in reply to AgedCrone]

The fact is we now as healthcare providers have to bid for services. An example on the small side I agree but patients who used to rely on nhs podiatrist are now being told they don’t fit the criteria and have nowhere to go u less they pay for private ( not all can afford) and long toe nails can cause open wound. Or patients thT need eye drops post surgery no one to do it As that service is not commissioned these are small examples but more and more we are finding gaps in care because of this. I wonder if one day we will realise that we let this happen because we didn’t realise how good we had it.

[AgedCrone in reply to Nurseratchette]

Hopefully someone will pick up on those examples & set about getting them included....together with other "litttle things"?

But the will has to be there.

Does whoever writes the commissioning criteria consult clinicians/ nurses/HCA's? It's the small details that often fail the whole service.

But it does all come down to cash. As you say we have had it so good for so long we are resistant to paying more... ...it's no good keep chanting "free from cradle to grave", but still expect all the high tech treatment available....when we are only paying enough for a third world healthcare service.

If I were a young nurse wanting to save for a house I would not stay in the NHS, when I could earn at least double the salary in the US or the Middle East.

When those in power wake up....let's hope it's not too late.

[bobski1 in reply to AgedCrone]

Third world health service !!!!! The UK has one, if not the the best health service in the world in cost per patent and services provided. It maybe creaking in places, but it is top notch compaired to even health services in Europe lorded by politicians as better than ours. I have had the misfortune with my wife ,to actually use some European healthcare under the EHIC card system and our bank balance has been well and truely battered with costs for simple things as a bed per night ,food ,water,prescriptions for drugs and also the costs of drugs. Added onto that, was one occasion I had to pay for an MRI scan to fully check if my wife was having a stroke or not. This is why I fight tooth and nail to anyone who bemoans the NHS I know what is waiting on the sidelines if people don`t get off their arses and fight for it.

[Rosiesmummy in reply to bobski1]

Anyone who thinks this is fake news should read “Britannia unchained” to see what prominent politicians have in store for us,or just look at the news today for what happens when private companies are given public contracts.

[HappykindaGal in reply to bobski1]

Didn’t you have insurance when you travelled? It would have been covered.

[dembonesDAMNBONES in reply to AgedCrone]

Why would they even bother moving outwith the UK?

No, they simply enrol with a private nursing agency, get to work with their new collegues, alongside their old colleagues for a much higher wage, which was why they walked away from the nhs, when they found out how much less they were being paid in the first place.

That's how privatisation manages to undermine the nhs.

It's planned and methodically implemented.

Cunning and stealth.

[Stephenlangtonriley in reply to AgedCrone]

I have had one of those reports come back which stated I had abdominal fluid on my knee, it became abnormal fluid in the comments at the end. So I am not impressed with that report writing being outsourced, if the comments had not corrected it, then my GP would have to make another referral as it would have been a serious problem. They might be cheaper but a more serious medical issue may have been incorrectly dianosed by the report writer not understanding English well enough, they are paid the minimum the contractor can get away with, pay peanuts and get monkeys. Privatisation has not improved the NHS, it has resulted in staff being poorly paid so the middleman can take a cut and as for PFI.........

[AgedCrone]

That is exactly what I was saying, I agree the NHS does a Stirling job........ for now.

I wasn't meaning it is a third world service NOW, but it will be unless we are willing to pay more NI contributions....or whatever the contribution will be called.......what we pay now is obviously not enough.

NHS Staff from the most Senior Doctor to the most Junior nurse,physio, lab technician, cleaner,cook, porter, paramedics et al.... ......all need paying the going rate, & if we want to receive state of the art treatment we can't have it on the cheap any more, and we have got to have Social Care for the elderly included in the NHS Budget. With the projected rise in the number of people who will be 80+ in the not too distant future, more geriatric care will be needed all over the UK....so the NHS will need more staff to cover that.....hence more salaries to pay......so more cash needed!

In Mainland Europe every one pays for a private insurance policy to cover non clinical services....as well as that, a portion of their Income Tax goes towards health care......like our NI contribution . At the moment, the NHS provides all these services free at the point of use, but it is going to have to have more money for that, or it WILL end up as a Third World Health Service and possibly being taken over by Private companies.

This insurance is not hugely expensive like Private Medical Insurance available in the UK. Maybe somebody living abroad can give some idea how much these policies cost?

Surely you got a good proportion of the money you spent in Europe using the EHIC card refunded by the medical section of your Travel Insurance Policy? You do have to put it on a Debit/Credit card to receive the treatment, but it is refunded unless you go to a Private Hospital which is not covered by your insurance....but I'm sure you would have checked with your insurance company before you went to an overseas hospital.

I had medical treatment in Italy & the whole amount, less the £50 excess on my Travel Insurance policy was refunded with my claim.

Let's hope the fairly new Secretary of State for Health can put together a suitable financial package that will mean the NHS as we know it can flourish.

But I'm afraid we will have to be willing to pay more for it.

[HappykindaGal in reply to AgedCrone]

France has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. It’s paid for by ringfenced insurance tax. Zero waiting lists. NHS has to change otherwise it will die. Sadly, politicians have known this for over twenty years and tinker around the edges of it without any meaningful changes. Fiddling whilst Rome burns comes to mind.

[AgedCrone in reply to HappykindaGal]

I have never lived in France and don’t know how their system works in detail,but I do have a friend who moved to live in a French village and subsequently became long term sick, and her GP visits her weekly just to “see how she is”!

Here in the UK,when I really needed a home visit...for the first time ever..... I had to beg the receptionist to even let me speak to a doctor explaining why.

Thankfully I got the visit.....but I guess in a lot of countries home visits have long been discontinued.

This post originated 5 months ago,& in that time (Brexit aside) NHS conditions seem to have deteriorated in a lot of ways.

[helixhelix in reply to HappykindaGal]

Well I live in France and healthcare is good, not great. And it sure isn't cheap! So we pay 8% of our income annually above about £10,000 for health and social charges. Our costs for healthcare are generally reimbursed between 50 and 70%. Doctors (usually specialists) are also allowed to change over the standard rates and that excess is not reimbursed. You have to pay all the non-reimbursed costs, or take out complimentary insurance to cover it. Luckily RA is one of 30 diseases where you costs are covered 100%, otherwise I would struggle to pay for Enbrel!

And zero waiting lists is a myth. Yes you can shop around, so maybe able to find what you need further away. However I regularly have had to wait for several months for a first appointment with a specialist. Even for scans I have had to wait a couple of weeks at times.

[sharon6768]

I live in the US. and I have not heard of even a hint of this. We can't even fix our own broken healthcare system let alone trying to ruin yours. If American lobbyists are involved (I didn't know they even could be), my guess would be the big pharmaceutical companies and I think your country would put those bastards in their place (hell) right away.

[bobski1]

Thank you for that link. I have now shared it on F/book . Can I suggest that others do the same please.