Greater choice a sign of the times

SO, “Buy one, get one free” could be the next advertising slogan for “Best Hospital Ltd” (Trusts enter sales market, Jan 24). Fine if you need both hips replaced, not so good if you need a heart bypass. Hospital loyalty cards, off-peak operations and patient miles coming to a poster site near you.

Sounds far-fetched — but then just what is happening to the NHS? The idea that hospitals should spend taxpayers’ money on advertising for patients instead of on treating them is simply disgusting.

People don’t want the language of the marketplace creeping into hospitals and healthcare. The way to deliver improvements in the NHS is by sharing good practice.

So forget “Who gives you X-rays — who who?”, take notice of what patients really want and when it comes to more privatisation — the man from Durham, he says no.

Dave Prentis,
general secretary, Unison

PATIENTS want to be able to choose clean, quality hospitals close to their homes. This, however, is not the choice being promoted by the Government.

As hospitals are forced to compete with the private sector, their survival will depend on their ability to promote themselves. The problem is that marketing requires money. In the private sector, these costs are passed on to the customer. In the NHS, taxpayers will pay the bill or services will be cut.

Private companies with years of experience promoting their services will be at an advantage. NHS trusts with less expertise could lose out. The result could be some of the best hospitals in the country having to close. What choice will there be then?

Dr Jonathan Fielden,
deputy chairman,
Consultants Committee,
British Medical Association

Licensing risk worth taking

SHAMI CHAKRABARTI argues, rightly, that there is no fundamental human right to work with children (Public Opinion, Jan 24).

However, there is a duty to make recruitment decisions fairly. Nacro has encountered many cases of people who pose no risk to children being dismissed from posts because of non-sexual convictions.

A 34-year-old man was dismissed when a check revealed teenage convictions for theft and public order offences. He had long since sorted himself out and was highly regarded in the community. Nacro has argued for an independent body which would licence individuals to work with children.

The independent panel recently announced by Ruth Kelly could prove a welcome step towards such a system.

Paul Cavadino,
chief executive, Nacro

Consider boarding with care

AT THE Who Cares? Trust we look at ways to increase educational opportunities for children from care . The opportunities offered at some boarding schools may look tempting in contrast to the bleak outcomes statistics indicate for this vulnerable group (Boarding is no cure for kids in care, Jan 24).

There may be cases when such a move would be beneficial but not at the expense of the young person’s need for a supportive home environment, somewhere which could provide a link with family and friends. Done carefully it could work; done carelessly it could turn out to be the worst of authority placement options.

Susanna Cheal,
chief executive,
The Who Cares? Trust

Media spotlight spot on

QUITE rightly, the media showed intense interest in the work of aid agencies after the tsunami (Issue of the Week, Jan 24). It was an unprecedented disaster and more than 80 per cent of UK households contributed to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal.

Sometimes critical coverage might make agencies feel uncomfortable, but anything that makes us better at delivering relief and long-term rehabilitation must be welcome. Do aid agencies cherry pick projects that will impress a gullible media? Some might, but generally aid work takes place away from the media spotlight in the least accessible places, because that’s where the world’s most vulnerable people with the most challenging problems live.

Jane Moyo,
head media relations,
ActionAid UK

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