Hospital consultant stands as parliamentary candidate to save NHS
Posted by Ellee on Sep 18, 2006 in Uncategorized | 7 comments
A top hospital consultant Barry Monk is to stand as a parliamentary candidate in the next General Election to fight for a decent NHS in this country.
His skills should be focused on caring for patients, not battling with an uncaring Government. Yet he feels he has no choice as his own hospital in Bedford could one of those axed in a regional shake-up and he doesn’t want to lose it. It is £12 million in debt.
The consultant dermatologist (pictured) will stand as a “Save Bedford Hospital” candidate and The Save Bedford Hospital organisation has been registered as a political party with the Electoral Commission.
I saw him on the lunchtime news, describing how the NHS could spend 
millions of pounds on management consultants and billions on a new computerised system that may not even work, anything but hospitals.
He is fed up with ward closures, staff shortages, the freeze on jobs, he said hospitals were more than just building, that it was time for politicians to stop meddling and interfering, people needed were proper hospitals in the Eastern Region.
He said:
“Enough is enough. I will be standing for Parliament at the next general election for the Bedford and Kempston constituency, fighting on the issue of the proper provision and of good quality accessible health care for the people of Bedfordshire.”
It seems unbelievable that he has to go to these lengths before he feels his voice is heard. He cares passionately about giving people a decent NHS service. But shouldn’t our Government be doing that?
Dr Monk will stand against Labour MP Patrick Hall and his courageous stand will strike a chord with thousands of others who share similar concerns. I wonder if other doctors will follow his lead. In fact, maybe doctors should unite and form a “Save The NHS” party before it is too late.
Iain, obviously that had occurred to me to, it is a tough one. This is a truly exceptional case of someone who feels so outraged against Labour that they want to form their own political party, I cannot help but admire that.
Yeah, great idea Ellee. Sure it will be a great success. And ensure that Conservative Candidate Richard Fuller doesn’t win the seat. Good one. Not.
Why do we want an NHS at all?
Did centralised management of food production work under Mao or Brezhnev? No. Food sat around rotting and people had to queue for a loaf of bread. Under Mao, millions died of starvation.
So why should centralised management of healthcare by government work? The NHS is a bad system.
It should be broken up into independent hospitals and run as mutuals outside of government control. Businesses would also be allowed to enter the market.
Patients should be treated and then the treatment claimed back. In order to make this work effectively, the patient would pay some of the cost, which would cause the patient to shop around, which then puts pressure on the provider to keep their costs down. For those on benefits, such costs would be paid.
Dr. Monk should easily win, and I wish him all the best in his efforts. However, part of me thinks that the more success the those like him have in desperately papering over the cracks of an unworkable socialist monolith, the longer it will be before true reforms are introduced.
Good for Dr Monk, although he should never needed to have been put in this position.
We are going to have hardly any hospitals left at this rate, and our population is rapidly still, more people are stressed and ill, it’s very, very worrying. I would like to know how many hospitals in the UK are free from debt? None in my area.
It is tragic that a talented doctor feels he has to take this step but I admire him for doing so. In my opinion the trouble began when the public services were first turned into businesses. – OK, they needed to shape up, but it has gone too far.