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EASTERN EYE March 25, 2011
COMMENT
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LONG-TERM FALLOUT?
WHILE there is broad support for the UN
resolution and the protection of civilians living in rebel-held areas in Libya, the long-term
aims of this intervention are not perhaps as
well thought-through as they might be.
It would be in almost everyone’s interest
that this was a short, sharp military intervention that led to the toppling of a dictator
to make way for democracy.
As the days pass since the weekend, when
the first action was launched, this seems less
and less likely.
Gaddafi is not going to go quietly into the
night like Hosni Mubarak; he intends to fight
and to stick around for as long as possible.
He is a canny operator and while the coalition of forces have good intentions, it isn’t
clear whether they have a strategy for a prolonged stalemate with Gaddafi controlling
some of the country but not all of it.
What happens then? Does the country
split? Or will the coalition’s military game
plan have to change?
Morale on Gaddafi’s side seems to be
holding up and he has roused his supporters
into believing the western-led but Arab supported action has all the hallmarks of the colonial powers trying to assert themselves.
From a purely public relations point of
view, and without examining the contours of
this conflict, the narrative can be made to be
very simple and negative: the west trying to
force its own agenda on a Muslim country.
However, this is not Iraq, and there is a
very important UN mandate for the coalition action.
Even at this late stage, some form of dialogue and a move to a more open and democratic society in Libya could help defuse the
situation. We know some will think that is a
forlorn hope, but the present situation could
lead to a stalemate that will benefit no one.
BUSINESS FUTURE
CONGRATULATIONS to all the enterpreneurs who won awards at the Asian Business
Awards last week. The achievements of the
winners and those in our Rich List should
serve as an inspiration to all those looking to
build businesses in the future.
Tell us what you think
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HEALTH OF
THE NATION
Amid the controversy caused by talk of possible NHS
reforms, a doctor says their concerns must be heard
by Dr Kailash
Chand OBE
Chair Tameside
and Glossop NHS
AS a general practitioner for
over 30 years, I view the NHS
as a cherished institution,
where young and old, privileged and impoverished, the
sick and the worried are treated without discrimination.
Any reform has to recognise
these strengths, and more. While I
appreciate your vision that the
NHS has to change, I must nevertheless point out that that if you do
implement the current proposals,
you will wreck this 62 year old establishment that has become the
fabric of British society.
The absence of any compelling
reason why these reforms are necessary or how they will translate
into improved outcomes is of huge
concern to the profession and patients alike.
Before the last general election,
you told the electorate that the
Conservatives were now the party
of the NHS, and you made much
of the compassion and care shown
towards members of your own
family. But as each day passes,
your words seem to have been
drowned by those in your party
who prefer revolutionary changes
to the basics of the NHS.
The Health and Social Care Bill
contains the blueprint to marketise
the NHS, producing a postcode
lottery and champion profit for
stakeholders at the cost of utilising
all available resources for patients.
The NHS reforms have been
widely criticised by scholars, patient groups, the BMA, unions and
even the Health Select Committee
chairman Stephen Dorrell. My
considered view is that the reforms
risk fragmentation of patient care
and will distract GPs from providing quality care to their patients as
they become besieged with the
complexities of commissioning.
As a senior figure in the NHS, I
am deeply involved in medical
politics and understand the complexities of the proposed Health
and Social Care bill. I see only
chaos in the transfer of budget and
responsibilities from primary care
trusts to GP consortiums. The notion that hands-off politicians can
dislodge responsibility on to GPs is
at best naive. I know that the plan
is not going to work and I don’t
know what problem it is trying to
radically resolve, at a time when
the NHS scores the highest public
satisfaction in 30 years.
It is hard to see how the consortiums will survive an unprecedented
annual four per cent efficiency saving over four years at a time of increasing demands. This would have
been an impossible feat for the existing 152 primary care trusts, let
by NADEEM BADSHAH
brought out the acoustics of the venue for those sitting at the back.
Then the star of the show arrived,
wearing a glittering dark green sari.
Bhosle stood for most of the concert
as she performed hits including In
Aankhon Ki Masti Ke and Dil Cheez
Kya Hai from the film Umrao Jaan and
Koi Poochhe Hai Kabhi from her new
album with Khan, Naina Lagaike.
But Bhosle is more than a singer.
She is a consummate entertainer and
kept the mood light with anecdotes.
She revealed she lost her voice when
arriving in Britain last Tuesday (15)
and praised a Harley Street doctor for
giving her a massage and advising
each other? And in this sort of health
service, the chronically and terminally ill, the mentally ill, those from
poor socio-economic classes, and
those that are elderly are likely to
lose out. What kind of an ideological solution is it that market forces
will determine the nation’s health?
To me, it is becoming clearer that
these “reforms” are not so much
about improving the NHS as about
reshaping the service to drive forward a marketisation agenda.
The reforms are, in my view, politically, economically and professionally flawed, and will tear apart
the foundations of the NHS. Health
secretary Andrew Lansley’s plans
are unnecessary, untried and will
cost not only the tax-payer a huge
loss, but your party a certain loss of
votes in the next election too.
This remodelling of the NHS, if
implemented, will make it impossible for the health service to return to its core values of putting
patient care before profits.
The views expressed in this editorial do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper
ASHA BHOSLE IMPRESSES WITH VINTAGE
SHE is 77 years old, has done
playback singing for over 1,000
Bollywood films, and has been in
show business for more than six decades, but Asha Bhosle shows no signs
of slowing down.
The singer was in energetic form as
she teamed up with Indian classical
vocalist and sitar player Shujaat Khan
for a concert at the Royal Festival Hall
in London last Wednesday (16).
The pair performed a mix of classic
melodies for the purists and popular
songs from Bollywood golden oldies
for the audience to sing along to.
Khan started alone to perform a
song with his sitar, which began with
soft whispers but ended with his bellowing tones. The 15-minute song
alone several hundred GP consortiums that are not yet even at the
embryonic stage of development.
The £80bn budget for these consortiums will be eroded by set-up
costs and complex bureaucracy.
The ‘any willing provider’ with a
price competition ethos means
where GPs will be able to send patients to whoever (even private
healthcare providers) offers the
treatment at lowest price will not
only shrink the NHS, but it also
has the potential of compromising
the standard of care. It also means
that a District General Hospital
like mine in Tameside could close.
Such a vast and prized institution
as the NHS really warrants more
sophistication than simply using
political imperatives to send things
backwards and forwards in a pendulum of futility. If doctors don’t
know whether they are coming or
going, what hope is there for patients from these recurrent reforms
driven by politicians keen to outdo
her to drink lots of coffee. And her
voice was in fine form in the stirring
rendition of Kangana Main Bandhoon from the new album.
The pick of the tracks was Marathi
number Shorobi, written by Bhosle’s
father Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar,
which showcased both singers’ impressive ranges. The performance was enhanced by the
band which consisted of
two tabla players, a
flautist, a keyboard
player and Khan’s son
Azaan on the guitar.
Bhosle joked to the
crowd that the young
musician was single
and available.
PERFORMANCE
The classic songs continued with
Naam Gum Jayega from the movie
Aandhi followed by Mera Kuch Saaman from Ijazaat.
Bhosle’s mischievous side came out
as she jokingly sang in the style of other singers including the nasal-voiced
Noor Jehan, her legendary sister Lata
Mangeshkar and ghazal singer Ghulam Ali.
The final song was the title
track Naina Lagaike, but
the artists returned with a
rousing rendition of
Chura Liya from the
film Yaadon Ki Baraat
as an encore, reaffirming that Bhosle has lost
none of her magic.