25 February 2019 | OPINION
Save Our NHS! Save Our NHS! is the tone of today’s healthcare debate across Britain. Tory moderates say they are in favour of the NHS and more inward investment. They also say it’s good for the economy and good for Britain. But are they actually right?
We need an outside perspective. Former Republican Congressman Bob McEwen from Ohio takes a different view: “Attlee took the greatest Parliament in the World and turned it into a hospital board meeting”. He remarked that he watches PMQs every week and continually sees MPs asking about A&E waiting times and hospital parking charges. In McEwen’s own country, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s ‘New Deal’ was a disaster and flew in the face of everything President Coolidge did a few years earlier in relation to limited government. After the crash in 1929, America elected Roosevelt who would introduce his ‘New Deal’ which, according to Congressman McEwen lead to too much Government interference. As a result, Americans can no-longer get the health care that is right for them.
Those on the liberal-right put this down to health care being a third-party purchase. If a consumer wishes to purchase a product, they are interested in two factors; price and quality. Consumers want the best quality for the best price. This is called a first-party purchase. Expenditure in which neither price nor quality are considered is a third-party purchase as an individual is using money that isn’t theirs to buy something they will not personally consume. As a consequence, all public sector purchases are third party purchases.
As well as neutering the quality of Parliamentary debate, it can safely be said the NHS is not sustainable. This was pointed out by former Shadow Health Secretary Ann Widdicombe in 1998 at the Conservative Party conference when she claimed a serious cross-party debate needed to be had on the future and the changes needed in health care delivery. I agree. We need a frank, constructive discussion about the NHS, with valid arguments and solutions being put forward from any party; no-matter personal politics which would be a useful debate to have. The sooner this happens, the sooner we can all get the health care system we want.
When Prime Minister, Tony Blair involved private enterprise in health care delivery. This could still be a solution to the problem, whilst keeping the NHS free at the point of delivery which would satisfy moderate Labour MPs, Liberal Democrats and the Independent Group. Whilst this could bring about a consensus in Parliament, it would still suffer the problem of not being cost-effective due to the Government being a third-party payer.
Overall, I am yet to be persuaded as to how we can reform the British healthcare system. There are many different suggestions that each have varying degrees of credibility. It is clear that it needs to be reformed, we cannot carry on with this. The British people deserve better.
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Tom Pritchard is the Branch Secretary for the Tunbridge Wells Conservative Association. Follow him on Twitter @ClowesPritchard
