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Commenting on the Government's complacent reply to his recent letter on chiropody care, which called on the Government to address the fact that many elderly patients waiting for routine services such as nail cutting face long delays or are told they are no longer eligible for treatment, Shadow Health Minister John Baron said:
"I have raised this issue in Parliament on many occasions, but the Government still denies responsibility. My most recent reply from the Department of Health merely states that 'access to chiropody services is a local matter'."
"For many elderly people, chiropody treatment means the difference between independence and a life of dependency on others. Many patients are now being forced to go private in order to receive basic services, sometimes paying up to £25 a session – a significant proportion of pension allowances.
"Chiropody illustrates how, in a culture of targets, those conditions which are not targeted suffer as resources are diverted towards priorities decided by politicians rather than medical professionals. A future Conservative Government would replace NHS targets with a set of clinical standards and entitlements for all conditions."
David, Do you think £500,000,000 for Podiatry Care Assistants to cut nails would be provided by Conservatives if they get the opportunity?
An assumption on my part? You have already ruled Podiatrists out elsewhere haven't you! You could be right not to expect Podiatrists to cut nails under the present Policy' in the NHS.
£500,000,000.00 additional funding to achieve this.
Throwing money at perceived problems is what lead to the problem now. Demand will always outstrip supply ... the debate should be about realistic and fair means to ration services and how to adjust expectations. (ie Health Economics 101)
__________________
Craig Payne
Department of Podiatry
La Trobe University
Melbourne, Australia http://www.latrobe.edu.au/podiatry
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________ God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things - right now I am so far behind, I will never die.
The views expressed above are those of the author and not that of La Trobe University This is where I am, where are you?
Throwing money at perceived problems is what lead to the problem now. Demand will always outstrip supply ... the debate should be about realistic and fair means to ration services and how to adjust expectations. (ie Health Economics 101)
Not a perceived problem Craig, but a very real one, affecting not only many patients but podiatrists as well. It is not solved by rationing services, but by identifying what care is needed and who should be responsible for funding and providing it.
You are quite correct insomuch as throwing money at a defective system only compounds the problems; ergo - fix the system!
Your breaking a thou shalt not norm! You can ration anything you like in the NHS. but you must not say it. That possibly is why targets are so popular, a form of rationing is it, isn't it, by the back door?
As Mark says above, "Not a perceived problem Craig, but a real one,"
I'm about to dash out the door to prove it, and I don't work for the NHS. depending on how you look at it?
Baron: Government complacency over chiropody services
re conservatives
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