BMA launches pre-election health manifesto
http://www.100md.com
《英国医生杂志》
As the date of the UK general election grows closer, the BMA has launched its challenge for all the political parties in the United Kingdom, highlighting the issues it feels should be tackled to improve health care.
The five point manifesto for the forthcoming election, widely predicted to be on 5 May, calls for improvements in public health; better choice for patients; limiting the role of the private sector; involving doctors, patients, and the public more in policy initiatives about the NHS; and further investment in the medical profession.
Launching the manifesto, BMA chairman James Johnson said, "The NHS is not as good as it could be. Doctors share many of the parties?stated aims to improve it. But if goals, such as shortening waiting times and making care more patient centred, are to become reality then politicians have to face a number of challenges.
"Gross health inequalities still exist in the with intolerable differences in health status between groups," said Mr Johnson. He added that the continuing use of the private sector to top up shortfalls in the NHS was potentially damaging to the NHS, "Diverting investment from the NHS to the private sector will do little to solve the problems of the NHS and in the long term may worsen them by damaging mainstream healthcare."
The BMA wants to see commitment to:
A more coherent public health policy that would tackle the differences in health status between different groups and the wide variation across the United Kingdom
Offering real choice in treatment options, not just by buying in private provision
Improving the NHS, rather than turning to the private sector, which in the long term may undermine the viability of some NHS services
Involving doctors in policies which might otherwise be impractical or not have the support of the medical profession
Investing in and expanding the medical profession, freeing it from political interference, and providing proper working conditions.
The BMA specifically calls on any incoming government to welcome the contribution of overseas doctors, but to recognise the importance of the developed world becoming self sufficient in doctors and nurses, rather than relying on staff from overseas and depleting the resources of those countries. It wants more investment in medical academic staff, whose numbers are currently declining, despite the increase in medical students.
The BMA is also calling for more appropriate, 24 hour childcare arrangements, which will reflect the needs of staff who work shifts in the NHS. Flexible employment opportunities are essential for retaining staff, it suggests.
And GPs, which it says provide "holistic" care, must be placed at the centre of a modern, efficient, and high quality care service. Their practices should be the centre for development in the future, the BMA says.
The manifesto says that doctors are committed to a health service that is properly resourced, comprehensive, free at the point of delivery, and provides equal access to all.(Lynn Eaton)
The five point manifesto for the forthcoming election, widely predicted to be on 5 May, calls for improvements in public health; better choice for patients; limiting the role of the private sector; involving doctors, patients, and the public more in policy initiatives about the NHS; and further investment in the medical profession.
Launching the manifesto, BMA chairman James Johnson said, "The NHS is not as good as it could be. Doctors share many of the parties?stated aims to improve it. But if goals, such as shortening waiting times and making care more patient centred, are to become reality then politicians have to face a number of challenges.
"Gross health inequalities still exist in the with intolerable differences in health status between groups," said Mr Johnson. He added that the continuing use of the private sector to top up shortfalls in the NHS was potentially damaging to the NHS, "Diverting investment from the NHS to the private sector will do little to solve the problems of the NHS and in the long term may worsen them by damaging mainstream healthcare."
The BMA wants to see commitment to:
A more coherent public health policy that would tackle the differences in health status between different groups and the wide variation across the United Kingdom
Offering real choice in treatment options, not just by buying in private provision
Improving the NHS, rather than turning to the private sector, which in the long term may undermine the viability of some NHS services
Involving doctors in policies which might otherwise be impractical or not have the support of the medical profession
Investing in and expanding the medical profession, freeing it from political interference, and providing proper working conditions.
The BMA specifically calls on any incoming government to welcome the contribution of overseas doctors, but to recognise the importance of the developed world becoming self sufficient in doctors and nurses, rather than relying on staff from overseas and depleting the resources of those countries. It wants more investment in medical academic staff, whose numbers are currently declining, despite the increase in medical students.
The BMA is also calling for more appropriate, 24 hour childcare arrangements, which will reflect the needs of staff who work shifts in the NHS. Flexible employment opportunities are essential for retaining staff, it suggests.
And GPs, which it says provide "holistic" care, must be placed at the centre of a modern, efficient, and high quality care service. Their practices should be the centre for development in the future, the BMA says.
The manifesto says that doctors are committed to a health service that is properly resourced, comprehensive, free at the point of delivery, and provides equal access to all.(Lynn Eaton)