Russell Plunkett

The NHS may be broken, according to @UKLabour @wesstreeting, but here’s how to fix it. Prevention, Prevention, Prevention, Prevention…. 1. Prevent poverty. It’s the single biggest determinant of ill health, and health and social care demand, both now and in the future. Blair and Brown made good progress in reducing it. So it can be done. 2. Prevent illness, with a relentless focus on living well, self-care, mental health support and tackling the commercial determinants of illness. Dental disease is the commonest cause of childhood operations, and yet it’s almost 100% preventable. 3. Prevent existing risks and diseases getting worse, with evidence-based screening and a substantial shift in resources to primary, community and social care 4. Preventing waste and medical harm, by ensuring patients receive the right care, in the right place, from the right people at the right time. This is the toughest nut to crack, as it requires adequate numbers of well trained and well rested staff working in safe, clean environments with the right equipment. We currently spent three times as much litigating harms from maternity care than we do on maternity care. This is a permanent disaster and would be a very good place to start. Instead of repeating our mistakes, we need to learn from them. For more detail see @PrivateEyeNews and come to the shows @edfringe @theSpaceUK Aug 2-17 tickets.edfringe.com/whats-o… tickets.edfringe.com/whats-o…