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One of the many anti NHS Privatisation groups fighting back against the destruction of the NHS and the transfer of healthcare in the UK into the US based system of denial of healthcare and profiteering from the ill-health of the nation; is the Doctor-run EveryDoctor which is a grassroots advocacy group made up of NHS doctors and GPs. They started with just a small collective of doctors, and have grown into a substantial organisation fighting against the abolition of the NHS, and educating the public as to what is truly happening to our NHS. It is non-political, and indeed is acutely aware that it is ALL political parties that are hell-bent on turning the NHS into an American healthcare system; although they will never admit that to their voters. The mantra that Labour in particular use to hide this fact, is the often bleated out standard statement of their aim is to ensure' The NHS will always be a healthcare service, free at the point of delivery." Their principle policy is that the public don't care who delivers their healthcare, as long as it is free at the point of delivery. But they do care about the quality of the healthcare, the availability of GPs doctors and nurses to ensure maximum healthcare and the availability of local hospitals and GPs. Ever since Tony Blair became PM in 1997 and employed Simon Stevens, the then head of the US healthcare Giant United Health, and its European President; the NHS has suffered from re-organisation, reduced budgets and the imposition of the private healthcare sector taking billion away from the NHS budget, increasing costs and reduction of quality healthcare. Furthermore, Alan Milburn his Secretary of Health, was busy taking funding from private healthcare companies and embedding private companies into the NHS. The organisation which knows more about the everyday negative and deteriorating service provided by the NHS, and the fact that it is no longer a 'National Service' after being broken down into 42 separate and autonomous American designed Integrated Care Systems; is one with NHS clinicians at its heart. EveryDoctor, unlike the major political parties, Labour, Tory, and Liberal Democrats has this at the heart of everything they do: We believe in a future NHS where every patient is safe and every staff member is supported; and it’s all in public ownership, free at the point of delivery. Indeed, its CEO, Dr Julia Patterson gave up her general practice to concentrate on the organisation she founded, and is probably one of the major organisations highlighting both the stress and ill-health being caused to the NHS' clinical staffing and the sheer destruction of what was once a national healthcare service. Earlier in January, Dr Julia Grace Patterson, EveryDoctor’s chief executive, told Byline Times that the Government’s “political actions” had “decimated” the NHS. “NHS GPs are absorbing an enormous amount of pressure currently,” she said. “They are doing everything they can to keep patients safe, but this becomes more and more challenging as the situation evolves. The Government is not supporting the current GP workforce, they are often scapegoated for problems that they have not caused, and there is now a move to flood the NHS with non-doctor clinical decision-makers, which is exacerbating the situation. " “Every healthcare professional has a role, and within a fully-functioning NHS with abundant resources, physician associates would be a welcome addition to clinical teams. We definitely hear about some places in the NHS where they are highly valued. However, in many NHS facilities, the burden of responsibility for supervision of their work falls to doctors. This is hugely labour-intensive and even dangerous, given the pressure on the NHS, the rate at which staff must work, and the potential for diagnoses to be missed and patient safety problems to be caused." “Morale amongst GPs is very low, and the situation must be urgently tackled. The Government must listen to frontline GPs and healthcare leaders to rectify the situation. Politicians are profoundly failing NHS staff and the patients they are devoted to caring for.” But despite the fact that, and indeed because of the fact that these 'non-doctors' are only given rudimentary 2 years training, they are paid much less than Doctors and are clearly employed and indeed the role 'invented' in the US Healthcare private insurance based system now being imported into the NHS; is testament to the 'dumbing down' of the NHS and the stealthy transfer of medical expertise from the NHS to the private sector that is the key to creating a two-tier healthcare system in order to maximise profit of the private sector and minimise the healthcare offered by the NHS. Commenting on concerns over the roll-out of Physician Associates, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Regulation of these roles has cross party support and will boost patient safety, with the General Medical Council operating strict fitness-to-practice procedures and setting education and training standards.” The Government’s Long Term Workforce Plan aims to increase the Physician Associate workforce in England to 10,000 by 2036 to 2037, and the similar Anaesthetic Associate workforce to 2,000 over the same period. Officials say new regulations will give the General Medical Council responsibility and oversight of doctors, PAs and AAs, allowing it to take a “holistic approach” to the education, training and standards of the roles." Despite this all happening, majority of MPs seem to be blindly supporting their political leaders NHS policy without knowing the true cost to the service and to the health of the nation, with all of them putting their political careers before the health of the citizens they were elected to represent and protect. You can join EveryDoctor as a supporter and check on the latest news about their campaign to save the NHS here Source: EveryDoctor / Byline Times See also: Government Intends Filling Doctor Vacancies With Under Qualified 'Physician Associates' NHS Privatisation News Archive
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