21.01.15
A very ‘liberal’ approach to the NHS
In the run-up to this year’s general election we’ve seen discussions on the NHS starting to resemble the age-old political football, with the Conservatives and Labour already in fraught exchanges over its future.
But is there wiggle-room for all the political parties to come together and work as one team on securing a safe future for our beloved NHS? Well, unsurprisingly, the Liberal Democrat health minister, Norman Lamb, is advocating just that.
Speaking at a debate in London on the future of the health service, Lamb called for an end to party political conflicts over the future of the NHS.
He warned that if the current status quo is preserved, the NHS could ‘break up’ in the next Parliament; a lose-lose situation for all concerned.
In an attempt to shake up the debate, Lamb has called for cross-party political support in making the ‘big decisions’ to achieve the £30bn in NHS “efficiency savings”, required in the next five years, via a mixture of “tax changes” and “other measures” (yes, it is still all a little vague).
Whether or not this latest plea will score any favour with the other political teams in Westminster is still to be seen. However, even though the message makes sense, we have seen similar calls fall by the wayside in the past, resulting in a rather disappointing no-score draw for the NHS.
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