Saturday 10 February 2018

The truth about the King's Fund think tank


The King's Fund are an independant health 'think-tank' who today provide advice to healthcare providers and government departments. The King's fund was orginally formed in 1897 to help the poor access healthcare in London. Today however they are a different beast advising private health companies on how to cut NHS services and take money from the poor, not give it.... read on....

TWENTY TWELVE

In 2012 the way the NHS operates was re-written by a Conservative led government via the Health & Social Care (H&SC) bill. The bill received royal assent and became an 'act' which came into effect in April 2013.

The act guaranteed the King's Fund further research funding.

TWENTY FOURTEEN

The King's Fund rely heavily on lobbying private companies and government to fund their future pet think-tank projects. They soon set to work on the H&SC Act and 10 months later released an 86-page report recommending everyone pay more for NHS services through a range of additional fees. So much for their 'charitable' status and humble beginnings helping the poor...

In 2014 the King's Fund published its Interim Report on the "Future of Health and Social Care in England" - 86 pages setting out what its ‘Independent Commission’ think must happen to save the NHS from becoming 'unaffordable' and 'unsustainable'.

The author, Kate Barker CBE, a business economist, has suggested a range of 'options' to increase income for the NHS. By and large these mean those who use it having to pay more.

The Kings Fund’s ideas include:

Over 60s (except those on pension credit) to pay for prescriptions - £1.5bn

  • Increase the qualifying age to 65
  • Raise the prescription charge to £10
  • Or remove all prescription exemptions and charge £2.45 to all
  • Charge to visit the GP from £5-25
  • Charging to attend A&E £10
  • Charge £10 for outpatient attendance
  • Charge £10 for each day in hospital
  • Charge £50 for each hospital 'procedure' - £900

Yet funding the NHS is about choices not affordability. If we invested a similar proportion of our national wealth as Germany and France do (both around 11.5%) the NHS would have about £25billion more than it does now.

Affordability is the wrong question. The right question is what do we prioritise? We could invest in the NHS and make it the best healthcare service in the world.

TWENTY EIGHTEEN

In 2018 the Conservative led government agreed to accept the advice from the 'Naylor Review' which is an NHS asset stripping document commissioned by the DoH. Once again a few months later, in response to the Naylor review of NHS estate, the King's Fund published its report commissioned by the Department of Health in support of the Naylor Review.

Twelve months earlier the King's Fund came out to support new U.S. style care models proposed by the head of NHS England Simon Stevens, a previous director of strategy at United Health, Americas largest private healthcare insurer.

Healthcare and profit are a bad combination. Ask any of the 47 million non-elderly Americans that were uninsured in 2012.


Source(s) + related links

Kings Fund suggests NHS fees - but is it really 'independent'?

The revolving door between healthcare companies, lobbyists, think tanks, special advisers and government



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