Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSNurses to create personal "brands"
Nurses would run hospitals and sell services directly to the public using their personal “brands”. This is the vision of the director of a network of nurses who recently discussed her ideas with Conservative Party leader David Cameron.
Nurses for Reform director Dr Helen Evans told Nursing Times her organisation wants to see hospitals across Europe privatised and national pay agreements scrapped, in favour of a more competitive health market.
This would set nurses free to set up their own hospitals and market themselves to employers and patients.
Dr Evans saw this as a natural extension of consumer culture, as the public made more active decisions about the airlines they flew with and the cars they bought.
She said: “Hospitals could advertise that they only used “x brand” nurses.
“As people behave like consumers the good brands will come to the top and the poorer brands will either close or be taken over.”
Tax payers would either be given a pot of money to spend, or the system could be funded through insurance schemes or friendly societies.
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Readers' comments (3)
Anonymous | 20-Jan-2010 11:08 am
Appalling idea. You will not reduce me as a person, to a commodity that fits into your neat world of buying and selling, which now includes people it would seem. Dr Evans needs therapy.
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Anonymous | 20-Jan-2010 6:41 pm
Just another gimmick that undoubtedly will be latched onto by David Cameron and his establishment cronies. I agree, appalling!
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Neil Hellewell | 20-Jan-2010 6:58 pm
Good grief - that is shocking!! Health is a service and not a market product. I would hate to see what organisation "nurses for reform" is and their goals. Lets hope this idea never sees the light of day!!
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