Blog: It’s hard to know quite what to think of our new Government’s radical plans to shake up the NHS, isn’t it?

After years of complaining about the increasing bureaucracy choking efficiency on hospital wards, my first reaction on hearing of proposed plans to slash manager numbers was one of joy and relief – that someone in power had finally found the courage to do what is so badly needed.

But it’s never quite that simple, is it?

The NHS has been told it must find a way of saving at least £20 billion by 2014, and plans are under way to abolish the current management structure of Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities within the next three years, with GPs set to take over their role.

Well, we all knew cuts would have to be made and that they would be drastic and I happen to think a new GP-led health service could work very well.

But what worries me is hearing that all hospitals will be encouraged to apply for Foundation Trust status by 2013, with the current cap on the amount of private work they are allowed to undertake, to be lifted.

The Government hopes this will encourage hospitals to become “a vibrant industry of social enterprise”.

I worry it could create a two-tier NHS, with patients who are unable to pay for treatment left out in the cold. And speaking as a patient with a chronic, incurable condition who will, unfortunately, require extensive and lifelong medical interventions that I could never afford to pay for, I’m feeling distinctly chilly.

We must be very careful what we wish for, because the NHS may be slow, ill-equipped, and choking on red tape, but it’s ready and waiting to catch you when you fall . . . whoever you are, whatever you’ve done and no matter how much cash you have in your pocket.

Let’s hope and pray it stays that way. 

By Emma Suddaby