Health..the debate continues!

Such is the level of debate on health reform that we seem not to be able to have a sensible exchange of views . It's all become playground shouting. You are either " in favour" of the Bill or you are "against" it,  ( with the grave assumption that if you support the bill you probably also like spitting at your granny). So I'm caricatured in the Guardian, followed by a somewhat surprising tweet from Polly Toynbee as "supporting the Bill". Actually ACEVO does not have a position on the Bill as a whole; either supporting it or demanding it is killed. Members have very differing views on the multitude of different provisions within it. But what is certain is that many ACEVO members look at the services provided by the NHS to their beneficiares (the mentally ill; the elderly; those dying in hospital beds) and think they could do better by those people. So I have strong views on choice ,  patients rights and the need for radical reform. And I use every opportunity I get to articulate those views. We need to  engage in this debate at a level that recognises that  the third sector has a crucial role to play- as providers or as voice. To denigrate the views of those of us who make that case is to ignore the big challenges an NHS , universal and free at the point of use, faces. The true supporters of our NHS are those who see the danger signals in how we provide health and social care in the current system and make the case for change. Competition is not a disease. The issue is how we ensure that competition is managed and regulated to ensure it benefits the patient and extends choice