The report by the Commons public accounts committee (UK health department played ‘fast and loose’ when awarding Covid contracts to Randox, 27 July) shows how the NHS is let down by this government. The health service has been underfunded since its inception except for the brief period in the first decade of this century when Labour increased funding.
Money is an important factor in the NHS crisis, but it is not the only factor. The lack of a workforce plan and the backlog of maintenance, lack of basic diagnostic machines, too few beds, insufficient pay and the completely unnecessary attack on doctors’ pensions all contribute. Liz Truss’s desire to reduce the number of managers, when the NHS spends far less on management than comparable countries and private industry, is illogical.
The basic problem is that the Conservative party does not believe in the NHS but dares not say so. By underinvesting, making the jobs unrewarding and creating waiting lists, it hopes to encourage the public to turn to the private sector. The scandalous waste of money during the pandemic, and the party’s insistence on using the private sector for the failed test-and-trace system, which cost £37bn, when the NHS could have done a better job for much less money, is indicative of its ideological approach.
There is nothing to choose between the leadership contenders. We must insist that ministers are held to account, that the government puts in the money that the NHS needs, and that it appoints ministers who believe in the service and who can plan for the future, rather than spouting platitudes.
Wendy Savage
President, Keep Our NHS Public
