Why not base NHS on German model? (From York Press)

Why not base NHS on German model?

11:58am Monday 6th February 2012 in Letters By Readers' letters

The Coalition Government is trying to radically alter the NHS, save money and make things more efficient and customer friendly.

Unfortunately they seem to be upsetting a large number of the health professionals and trade unions and not making things clear to the patients. Why do they not follow the leaders in this field?

Germany has probably the finest health care services in the world. German hospitals are split into three sections. One third is owned and run by the State; one third run by private companies and the last third run by non-profit making organisations.

At the new Pontefract and District hospital, the A&E department has to close at 10.30pm every night due to a lack of doctors. In Germany, there are so many qualified doctors, not all can find work in Germany, so many go elsewhere.

Surely we could learn from the German methods how to improve our NHS without annoying so many people?

David Quarrie, Lynden Way, Holgate, York.

• THE Health and Social Care Bill goes back to the House of Lords next week and it is clear the Government will now have to make major amendments to the original Bill to meet the almost universal declarations of concern about its impact on patient safety and universal health-care provision.

So, I hope the amendments will support NHS providers to develop integrated services at every opportunity.

The proposed health and wellbeing boards should be an opportunity for us to do that by bringing together health and social-care providers. But this could have been done without the huge demolition job now underway with the abolition of Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities.

I also hope they will address the concerns that the NHS Future Forum found with the issues of integration. That is in the way funding is allocated, which can discourage the NHS in tackling the problem. Hopefully, Monitor (the independant regulator of NHS Trusts) will be given the power and the authority to require healthcare providers to co-operate and support integration.

Finally, shared budgets between the clinical commissioning groups and social care commissioners will ensure that health and social-care commissioners will work together in the interests of patients, service users and their carers.

Christina Funnell, Heworth ward councillor, Upper Price Street, York.

• THE proposed Welfare Reform Bill has been sent to the House of Lords where seven different amendments were made to it, not one section was approved.

It was then sent back to the House of Commons in its revised form. The Coalition Government did not accept these amendments and proceeded to use their powers to overrule the Lords’ proposals. What is the point of sending it to the Lords in the first place?

It would seem that if the Lords do not agree with the original proposals, the Government ignores them and goes its own way. So let’s disband the Lords and save a lot of money, because it would seem to be just an expensive old boys’ club.

AP Cox, Heath Close, Holgate, York.

• FOLLOWING the trouble in the House of Lords over the bill to put a cap on benefits, the Commons on February 1 discussed several of the Lords amendments.

Amendments 15/17/18 and 73 were accepted by the Commons with a majority vote of around 60. As the Coalition has a majority in the Commons, some members must have voted against the Government – conscience perhaps?

Amendment 15 ensures that severely disabled young people continue to receive contributory Employment Support Allowance.

Amendment 17 opposes the introduction of a 12-month limit to claim contributory Employment Support. Amendment 18 would ensure that cancer patients undergoing treatment will still receive Employment Support Allowance.

None of the above were unreasonable amendments to the Bill or they would have been voted out. The Lords on this occasion have done a good job and should keep doing so, especially the 34 Conservative Lords who played their part in this victory of common sense.

Dennis Barton, Woodthorpe, York.