Politics - Goodwill

One major element which this government through successive Secretaries of State, has willfully squandered is goodwill and once it is lost it cannot be replaced.

New Labour showed its true colours when Alan Milburn took over the job. For his whole tenure it seemed as though he brought out one stick after another with which to beat doctors. CLICK ..    Hardly an intelligent thing to do when the service was, at that time, totally dependent on the goodwill of those whom he was controlling so gleefully.   Such intelligent thoughts that people might actually work for nothing were far beyond the conception of the ever belligerent and class conscious Alan Milburn, so he blundered on remorselessly.

GP out of hours, for instance, was virtually free of charge to the government. I, for one, in a country practice, worked alternate nights and alternate weekends and had done so willingly for over 20 years.   That was how general practice was and we were proud to be able to do it.

Then I began to wonder why I should be loyal to an ingrate such as Milburn and a control freak such as Blair. Blair who had an almost psychotic urge to "reform" whether he knew what the outcome and consequences of his reforms would be.   Indeed, whether he had even begun to think through to the end point, as with his Iraq adventure.

Services had been passed down from the hospitals to general practice for decades and we had cheerfully cooperated without demanding extra pay. It was done for the good of the service and patients. despite the freezing of pay deals and intereference with Review Body Reports by successive governments.

But, came new Labour and Milburn and his successive colleagues, all somewhat lacking in man-management skills, who made it painfully obvious that breaking the profession was what they were after, and we all began to wonder why the Hell we should continue to prop up the NHS at our own physical and financial cost.

Enough was enough.

A demand ran through the profession that we would no longer do anything for nothing. The negotiators were instructed to cost everything and to ensure that it was paid for.

They did, it was and that is why doctors' pay has risen so much under the new contract. The government is now having to pay for what, under goodwill, it got for nothing. It costs quite a lot, doesn't it? Journalists might like to investigate that one before running idiotic Mail headlines.

But, still the government goes blundering on under the scarcely more intelligent Hewitt. Off they go, setting the spin revolving claiming doctors are overpaid; their pension contract to be unilaterally reneged upon and pensions cut; more and more work to be dumped on primary care (without payment - see Dr Colon Thome's thoughtless suggestion of last week); medical education in a shambles; dangerous, if not lethal, dumbing down of medicine as flattered but inappropriate nurses and chemists are let loose on patients (to save money); and control continues as demands are made by more and more NHS groups for the power to suspend non-line-toeing doctors at a whim.

Under the present regime and political climate there is not a cat in Hell's chance of goodwill returning with the consequence that the NHS will continue to founder. Maybe this is what Bliar is after. This, the most incompetent and dangerous Prime Minister, has grievously damaged other parts of British society, after all.

This is sad, to my mind, causing the profession in self-defence to seek payment for every task has turned medicine into a trade. Just what the government intended. I opposed the new GP contract for that reason and i would oppose it again but the GP negotiators are not to blame. The blame must be squarely placed on the shoulders of government.

GPs should enjoy things whilst they can because this government will impose more and more controls. And more and more GPs will resign, emigrate or retire and more and more patients total care will be by untrained non-doctors such as nurses and chemists.

The petty and childish mindsets of the prime Minister and successive Secretaries of State is seeing to the destruction of invaluable goodwill within the NHS with consequent damage to patient care - and the nation's finances. Not, of course, that Prudence has a clue what he's doing there other than raising taxes remorselessly.

The NHS needs goodwill. It was there and Blair has killed it throughout the Service.

(3/1/07)