A GP has launched a scathing attack on Hackney MP Meg Hillier over NHS reforms, which he says will hit Hackney the hardest.
The Shadow Energy and Climate change Secretary has come under attack
Dr Jonathan Tomlinson, 39, who works at the Lawson Practice on Nuttall Street, De Beauvoir, believes that Ms Hillier, MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch, is failing to do enough to protect her constituents from the potential privatisation of NHS services under the Health and Social Care Bill as part of the official opposition. If the bill is passed, GPs will be given more power over patient treatments, staffing, pay, and workforce planning from 2013, and Dr Tomlinson believes the change in healthcare provision could target the least well-off.
The doctor, who is a member of the City and Hackney division of the British Medical Association (BMA), believes Ms Hillier has done little to help local doctors fight the bill. “She has offered no support to Hackney GPs. I have written to her numerous times but she has basically told me to stop whinging,” he said. “She’s dreadful and just doesn’t understand. She is a career politician who does whatever she’s told. Not only does she not have a clue but she’s quite keen on privatisation.”
Ms Hillier responded, saying: “I don’t want to have an argument in a newspaper with someone who has not spoken with me about the health bill. I base my comments on facts, not conjecture. I am deeply concerned about many aspects of the bill and particularly the break up and privatisation of commissioning health services.”
But Dr Tomlinson, also a member of campaign group Keep our NHS Public, believes the potentially adverse effects of the bill on Hackney’s citizens haven’t been taken seriously enough by Ms Hillier.
“Compared to the rest of London, and the rest of the country, Hackney has a lot of sick, impoverished, poorly educated and mentally ill patients who are socially isolated,” he said. “Markets follow money, not human need. And if markets are used to drive care then those people who need it the least will have access to the best care and the people who need it the most will have access to the worst care.
Speaking exclusively to the Hackney Post, amid the BMA’s outright opposition to the Health and Social Care Bill, Dr Tomlinson said: “I’m very disappointed and absolutely furious with the Government.” Despite their criticisms of the bill, the BMA have pledged to continue discussing the issue with the coalition. But Mr Tomlinson does not believe this process will affect the outcome.
“I can’t see the Government dropping or making any serious amendment to the bill.”
