How did we fall out of love with NHS? Easy. It's election politics
Labour MPs see the hand of No 10 election strategist Lynton Crosby behind the current NHS horror-fest
ALMOST a year after the world was left dewy-eyed about our love for the NHS by Danny Boyle's spectacular opening ceremony for the London Olympics, reality bites.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is poised to send in hit squads to tackle Britain's "killer" hospitals, acting on the review by Sir Bruce Keogh which identified 14 NHS hospitals where the mortality rates were unusually high.
As John Humphrys, the Radio 4 Today presenter, said this morning, Keogh's discovery of thousands of apparently needless deaths reinforces the adage that hospitals make you ill. What has gone wrong?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a nutshell, the NHS is being used as a political football for the coming general election.
Labour were in charge for most of the period – 2005 to 2012 – covered by the Keogh Report and so the Tories are seeking to pin the blame for the hospitals' shortcomings on Labour's handling of the NHS.
Labour MPs have told the Mole they see the hand of Lynton Crosby, the Tories' hard-hitting Aussie election campaign strategist, behind this.
"Lynton Crosby is very good. He's trying to neutralise the health service for the Tories as an issue before the 2015 general election," said one Labour former whip.
But a leading health expert - John Ashton, president of the Faculty of Public Health - this morning accused both the Tories and Labour of using the NHS for "a massive political game".
The Tories' main target is Andy Burnham, the last Labour health secretary. Burnham went on the Today programme this morning to reject allegations that he covered up the scandal of high mortality rates. He also accused the Tories of pursuing a secret agenda to privatise or commercialise the NHS.
"What we have here is a political attempt to re-write the Francis report [into the Mid-Staffs hospital trust] and throw all of the blame at the last government and it simply isn't good enough. What we have seen is that [at] the 14 hospitals in the Keogh review, standards have fallen on this government's watch.
"I believe this government is portraying the NHS in as negative a light as it possibly can. It has an agenda around privatisation, more marketisation of the NHS."
Burnham claimed that NHS care had worsened markedly under the coalition government, noting that 1,000 nursing cuts had been made at the 14 hospitals under review.
He also accused his own senior civil servants at the Department of Health of seeking to cover up the evidence of high mortality rates at hospitals such as Mid-Staffs and Basildon. "I received official advice - from the full weight of the government - that no further inquiry [into Mid-Staffs] was needed."
However, Prof Sir Brian Jarman, a member of one of the NHS hospital inquiry teams and a specialist in hospital mortality rates, said regulators had all complained about pressure put on them by the Department of Health under Labour - though not individual ministers - to play down the importance of high mortality rates at some hospitals.
Jarman quoted a memorandum in the Keogh Report from civil servants to former Labour health minister Ben Bradshaw advising him on the "line to take" against a damning report first published in 2007. It said "if pushed on DH (Department of Health) role, say that the ... report was first published in 2001..." thus implying it was out of date.
Maybe Danny Boyle needs to revisit the NHS – and make a political horror movie this time.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Cautious optimism surrounds plans for the world's first nuclear fusion power plant
Talking Point Some in the industry feel that the plant will face many challenges
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
2024: the year of Black country artists
In the Spotlight Beyoncé debuted 'Cowboy Carter' at the top of the country charts, shining a spotlight on artists like Shaboozey
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Explore new worlds this winter at these 6 enlightening museum exhibitions
The Week Recommends Discover the estrados of Spain and the connection between art and chess in various African countries
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
John Prescott: was he Labour's last link to the working class?
Today's Big Quesiton 'A total one-off': tributes have poured in for the former deputy PM and trade unionist
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published