Could not agree more with both Chomsky and you, Mike. The problem for them is that id they ruin the NHS too much or too quickly, the public has shown it remove the government doing the damage.. I guess that is why they are going at with such gusto 4 years before the next election (though there will be some by-elections to get through). The next two years are going to be the most dangerous, well hopefully so, for the survival of the N.H.S. This is why I believe, and I can feel the terrible conundrum this could morally bring into being, increases in funding for its services need to be met with caution. That is to state is the funding just part of a fattening up our health service for private companies to realize greater profit margins or merely make it financially viable for them. Privatisation will have to provide the necessary 20 percent profit margin to fund CEO’s massive salary and shareholder returns; so, 20 percent of the present NHS budget will be lost. Extra funding being tied to increases in the number, pay and training of staff could be one-way of insuring it’s siphoned off (the use of agency nursing will need to be balanced against increases in training) to the likes of Virgin Media and Capita.

shaunt

do you remember that the health sector and public sector were merged with each working together and helping each other in shared duties of care. The die was cast when there was further division.eg Social workers were overseeing care funds, DSS became DWP and each were competing for social and care funding.
charities were given some funding, private sector bidding was encouraged, franchises given to low bidders.
Care standards, cleaning standards in hospitals became secondary to cost. this then was also relegated to a status of not important as staffing ratios were using agency nurses and though less staff were available NHS became more expensive. Trust managers ‘ salaries, and agency costs drained the funding which politicians said were being injected into the NHS. Managers and salaries prioritised their own bonuses and salaries above standards of frontline care.
Franchises are no longer given to the cheaper providers, the funding is now awarded to hospitals within tory MPs boundaries with money increased by closing other hospitals in areas where Tories have less support. This situation is both unfair and introduces needless risk in these areas. However tories are not concerned as they know the voting system is skewed in their favour they fix the boundaries and get funding from the mamagers of trusts and corporations and indirectly from tax evaders and taxpayers.
tax evaders fund tories to retain tax loopholes they use.
taxpayer monies is given to corporative bodies under the guise of enterprise zones or subsidised wages for low wages paid by corporations. This money is then given to tories to fund elections or invested in the economy temporarily to fake an improving economy. This cons the imbeciles who believe the figures produced.
That is how the tory privatisation programme works although they are idiots to think they fool everyone.
Sting in the tail will be division of the UK.