Health debate unites/divides the parties
Thursday, April 22, 2010 Forget the leadership debate. Health secretary Andy Burnham yesterday went head-to-head with his Conservative and Lib Dem rivals, Andrew Lansley and Norman Lamb. Co-hosted by the BMA, NHS Confederation, King's Fund and the Royal College of Nursing, the hustings-style debate covered the future direction of health policy.
Early intervention was Andy Burnham’s key message. More money should be allocated for the Healthy Child Programme, he suggested. Labour had taken bold action on public health with childhood obesity and on smoking and it is time to take a “longer look” at alcohol policy.
Preventing people from starting smoking (my emphasis) should be a key part of government policy, said Burnham. This includes tackling supply, including the banning of vending machines. He's also wants to look at the case for plain packaging while NHS Stop Smoking places should be more available in the workplace.
Tackling the smuggling of tobacco is key for the Lib Dems. Smoking cessation services should also be improved, said Lamb.
The Tories want to ban proxy purchasing and improve the border control agency. Smoking Cessation Services should reach out more and the pharmacy sector should be used, said Lansley. Demand is also key, and young people should not be artificially boosting their self-confidence in this manner.
Full details (including video) on the King's Fund website HERE.
Reader Comments (6)
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
(Wake me up when they have something interesting/useful/intelligent/relevant/funny to say).
More control freakery then.
Smoking Cessation Services should reach out more .
What does that mean I wonder ?
Sounds a little sinister to me.
Tackling the smuggling of tobacco.
No dumbo the smuggling is caused by your exorbatant taxation.
Besides you can't even control illegal drugs that's a no hoper from the start.
The case for plain packaging .
No that doesn't work either it's been tried in a few countries and failed miserably.
Yada yada yada.
Posture, posture, posture.
I've got a better idea.
Why don't you all just mind your own business and get off our backs.
Monkey's.
Preventative medicine has been the catch cry of public health for decades now. Has it stemmed or reduced the cost of health services? Reduced hospital waiting lists? Led to less people accessing the system? Not at all. It's plain and simple misdirection - if you're to blame, shift the attention somewhere else.
In this instance, it's not the system's fault that it's hopeless at treating sick people, it's the peoples' fault for getting sick in the first place.
It's about time that the media stopped being played for fools by the politicians and bureaucrats. Preventative health doesn't justify the massive focus and expense. How about putting that time, money and attention into actually fixing the system for treating sick people?
"It's plain and simple misdirection."
That, Ano, is a BRILLIANT summation !
The admirable Derren Brown is at pains to state that his 'mind-reading' and manipulative techniques are:
"A combination of magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection and showmanship".
In recent years, I've found myself wondering whether he's been giving lessons to highly-placed members of our government.
On the other hand, they could probably teach HIM a thing or two.....................
All this waffle by the Magnificant Three about smoking cessation services, is just pandering to the anti smoking voters.
'Tackling smuggling of tabacco and improving border controls' is a laugh when they couldnt even control illegal immigration for the past ten years, and that was in plain sight.
Now get ready for a contradictory waffle by some other govt faction soon, about looking into the possibility of allowing workmens clubs or pubs some leeway in the smoking area due to the recession/recreation/...some such bullshit like that.
Just to get the smokers vote.
"Just to get the smokers vote."
Well, I wish SOMEBODY would try, Ann !