The curse of political meddling

I struggle to work out why if Jane Plant has an answer or more useful treatment for cancer how is it that our NHS have missed such treatment? Surely our "National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) or NHS Healthcare Commission should lead our hospitals and doctors to the best practice .....but will they when they seem obsessed by equal opportunities and political correctness? I despair at the political meddling in the NHS.

As Jan has cancer we are looking for good treatment, and if not a cure maybe the best possible odds or longest survival. Jan's odds are good for a cancer, but without cancer she would have had a mean life expectancy of another 25 years, the cancer has dropped that by 10 years. I think we can restore some of those lost 10 years by diet and or lifestyle changes.

So I use the Internet. 95% of the sites quickly lead to crack pot ideas from cranks. But I place enormous value on respected universities and professional sites. Before we chose Jan's treatment we looked at statistics by county in the UK, looked at hospital websites, and the CVs of the two consultants who are treating Jan. Their CVs cannot be faulted, just a shame Jan has yet to meet the oncologist, we have only seen her registrar and houseman, and the surgeon failed to turn up at our last appointment.

What if I look at government sites.... after all this year's mantra is patient choice and involvement under PPI. The government run an online hospital comparison site.....just like those that get best value car insurance. I compare the 2 hospitals we have been offered for Jan's radiotherapy, and look for info such as death and cure. NOTHING.

So what do I find. One hospital is satisfactory, the other weak.... but why, did they offer less cures, more deaths or what? I am not told, just it failed to meet one financial target so was automatically rated as weak. I guess the most likely reason is they worked flat out relieving suffering, so treated and cured more sick folk, had shorter waiting lists, and spent more on staff fees and medicines. To the government stats that is weak performance, to me it is praiseworthy!

What else does the government comparison site tell me? The hospital scored 79 out of 100, because it had facilities such as an induction loop, signing for the deaf, car parking, and disability access. It seems not to matter if they cured or killed.

So I look at the new NHS patient and public involvement known as PPI. Joan Saddler OBE has been appointed by the government to revitalise PPI. How did she come to be so involved in the National Health Service? A far as I can see she is a political activist, her contribution so far has been in women's and ethnic minority equality issues and in singing with the London Adventist Chorale.

At an interview Joan Saddler said: “I am very pleased to accept this exciting new role. I am passionate about community engagement and look forward to working with groups across the NHS, so that patients and the public are true partners in the delivery and improvement of healthcare"

Why do we need to consult with the public over all issues? Surely developing cancer treatment needs some scientific training, just under half the members of the public are below average intelligence and lack such training. Why concentrate on access by minority groups or the disabled when what we need first of all is effective treatment for anyone. Personally I would rather see an eminent scientist heading such work.

My GP is similarly hamstrung by government targets, in my case to have no-one waiting more than 48 hours for an appointment. Why????? I book a holiday 6 months ahead, why should I not book a non urgent appointment with a doctor more than 48 hours ahead? But Tony Blair stated I must not.

When I phoned one afternoon for a non urgent appointment to see a doctor say within the next week, maybe even at the start or end of a day to save excessive interruption to my work, I was told that was impossible, it would breach the targets. I must phone again the next day at the 08:30 scrum, and keep dialing the normally engaged number until I got through to book an emergency appointment. As a fit man I can do that, but could a weak bedridden person keep dialing?

I despair of our NHS with this present government control.