A Comment on the GP's List Purging.

List cleansing is being carried out in anticipation of the passing of the Health Bill which abolishes the duty to provide a comprehensive health service in England that is available to all and free at the point of use. Commissioning consortia will be able to determine which services: "are appropriate" and which are not. They will not have any responsibility to provide services for the total population in their areas and will be able to pick and choose their patients just as much as patients can choose which GP practice to register with. Local authorities - heaven help us - will become the providers of last resort. Anyone who imagines the average GP will have much say in these decisions is living in cloud cuckoo land. The NHS - a health service that treats all disease, is available for everyone and is free at the point of use - really is going to disappear and will be replaced by nothing more than a brand name. It seems the notion of the NHS as it was defined in 1948 is so deeply embedded in our souls that most of us have not yet grasped that this is what is going to happen. If you live in England, do not dare to be sick, do not dare to be injured, do not dare to seek relief from pain and suffering. You;ll be OK in Wales and Scotland though.