The NHS, Naylor Report And Election

The NHS, Naylor Report And The Election

The suggested, by the Leave campaign, £350 million for the NHS if the UK left the EU is now generally accepted as the lie that it always was. Some, however, still think that there should be some extra money for the NHS. The Naylor Report nails (sic) that. Theresa May's assertion that she will implement the Naylor Report means that not only is there not £350 million extra for the NHS there is actually no extra money at all, not even a penny. NHS Trusts will first have to sell of any property assets they have (buildings, land) if they want extra money. All NHS assets are to be transferred to a new body, NHS Properties. The government will then double, for the NHS Trust in question, whatever sum is raised by the sale of its asset, up to a total of £10 billion for all NHS Trusts. This will be trumpeted as a further £10 billion investment in the NHS. NHS Property Services is to be run by a person with strong connections to American healthcare.

Let's take an example. An NHS Trust strapped for cash and urgently in need for more (all of them?) has an asset worth £20 million. It very urgently needs at least some of that money and so must sell, urgently. What is the negotiating position of a potantial buyer? The buyer could say: «We'll give you just £10 million, then the government will give you another £10 million, and so you will get the £20 million you need». That must look like daylight robbery to the NHS Trust involved but it can't wait and the investor can. So what happens? With competition for the asset, most probably some compromise is reached (£12 million say, even £15 million?) and so the investor gets a bargain. The overall result? The NHS Trust loses something and the investor gets rich. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Those who bought the £350 million on the side of that famous bus now must know that they were conned. The to-be-trumpeted £10 billion investment in the NHS is another con. The principal referendum conmen are now senior government figures. They are good at conning; it makes them successful. So do you think they are going to stop doing it? If you like being conned, vote for them; you can be sure you will be conned in the future.