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Livingstone uses private healthcare

According to City AM on 19th April" Ken Livingstone, the Labour candidate to be Mayor of London and a noted opponent of NHS privatisation, uses private healthcare services, City A.M. has learned. "A spokesperson for the 66-year-old Livingstone said he uses an “external provider” for annual check-ups, in an admission that is sure to lead to accusations of hypocrisy. “Like many people he has an annual check up from an external provider – if he ever needs to see a doctor for anything it is with his local GP, or with other NHS services,” a spokesperson told City A.M. last night."Private check-ups generally cost anything from several hundred pounds to several thousand, although it is not known how much Livingstone’s annual appointments cost. "In a post for the Labour Party’s Save London’s NHS petition earlier this year, Livingstone said: “The people of our capital city deserve top quality care and demand our health care should not be broken up, sold off or be privatised by the back door.”"The admission comes just weeks after Livingstone was widely criticised for channeling his income through a company to reduce his tax bills, despite describing people who use these kind of legal tax planning measures as “rich bastards”. "A spokesperson for Boris Johnson, Livingstone’s Tory opponent and the incumbent Mayor, said: “This is yet another example of Ken Livingstone’s hypocrisy – saying one thing but does another. First we discover that at the same time as attacking tax avoiders, saying they shouldn’t be allowed to vote in elections, he is avoiding tax himself and standing in an election. Now we learn that while campaigning as a defender of the NHS he uses private healthcare "It was also revealed recently that Livingstone told a meeting of Latin Americans in South London that he will instruct the police not to spend a large amount of time rounding-up and deporting illegal immigrants. It's fractionally more subtle than when he previously promised Latinos "well-paid jobs" at TfL.Someone needs to tell Livingstone that the Mayor of London is not in charge of immigration policy and enforcement.

David Giles ● 5126d15 Comments

He is using private health care, not privatising health care! that does not mean he is turning over health care to the private sector, that's Pinky and Perky's policy  (pigs with their snouts in the trough).  It doesn't matter how you dress it up he isn't turning over the function of the 'public' health service to the private sector, he is using the private sector; there by supporting it in its own right not lining it up for lucrative contracts within the 'publicly' funded 'public' health system.This is not a statement from a die hard labour or Ken fan, just a statement of reality from some one who doesn't buy in to bull and hence has never voted stupid, sorry Conservative.

Philip Walsh ● 5121d

David,thank you for speaking on behalf of all Londoners, with your final sentance ! This contradicts what I always believed that Londoners just want a health service that worked and they don't really care who runs it and who uses it.Politicians come and go and they are the ones who blame "foreigners", "previous governements", "nurses", "doctors", etc.All the NHS needs is a period of non interference from government. Can you promise this ?ps - which A+E is closing, West Mid or Ealing ?

Richard Smith ● 5121d

There is no evidence that the present Coalition Government "is trying to force more privatisation of the health service to the detriment of the poorer members of society." On the contrary the present Government is spending more on the NHS than the previous Labour Government.The Government is of course looking at ways of improving the NHS so it can provide a better service to all of us and especiially to the poorer members of society. The private sector has always suppplemented the NHS and will continue to do so. Indeed the involvement of the private sector in the NHS was increasded by the last Labour Government. NHS Denistry for example has generally been provided by the private sector as I can testify by my latest NHS dental treatment last Wednesday at an excellent West London private sector dental surgery.However it is hypocritical of people like Livingstone to vehemently oppose private sector involvement in the NHS while at the same time using the private sector when it suits him.It is the hypocrisy of publicly-funded champagne socialists like Livingstone - who say one thing and do another - that Londoners can't stand.

David Giles ● 5121d

David your party is trying to force more privatisation of the health service to the detriment of the poorer members of society.  The fact that an opponent to privatisation uses a private health provider is positive, it lifts some of the burden on a cash strapped service and in no way detracts from opposing the lying greed and profit for friends of the party that you and your party want to foist upon us does it.

Philip Walsh ● 5121d

"Livingstone uses private healthcare"So what - lots have us pay into the NHS but use private healthcare when we want to. Whats the problem? Its his money, surely he can do what he likes with it?

Steve Taylor ● 5123d

The deciding factor I understand is the assessment which states the on-going care needs of the individual.You then take that assessment and seek out a care and/or nursing home which suits those needs.On-going NHS care is funded fully by the NHS if there is a primary health need regardless of savings.An assessment of partial nursing care can give some money towards their nursing costs in a home but I am not sure how that is applied.The remaining need is considered as social needs which are paid for by themselves if they have the income or Social services if they don't.If your relative is assessed as requiring social care and her health then changes she might then be reassessed as having a primary health need and the source of her funding would change.

Sarah Felstead ● 5124d

When I worked for Bejam, I sometimes brought my lunch from Tescos, even though I could have eaily tucked into an out of date Peter's Pie out the back.I think this is relevant.

Richard Smith ● 5125d

Yes, I was talking about residential care.I'm not sure what you mean by 'NHS care patients'. Are you talking about long-term hospital care, or nursing homes which are, surely, funded in the same way as residential care?

Susan Kelly ● 5125d

Dept for W&P pay half the full allowance plus cold weather payment - £150 + £10 to fully funded NHS care patients, which acts as a bonus going directly to them.Are you talking aout somebody who is having social care and is funded by the Council because of low income/savings?

Sarah Felstead ● 5125d

To be accurate, it's only paid to people in care homes who are self-funding. My mother got it in 2010 because she'd been paying her own fees for part of that year, but not in 2011 after the Council took over the bulk of her costs.If you're paying your own fees at anything from £500 to £1000+ per week, then £200 a year isn't going to make you feel any better.

Susan Kelly ● 5125d

A strange arrangement we know of is the Winter fuel allowance which is payable to the individual, even if they are in fully funded NHS care!  Surely it would be better going to the NHS who are funding the winter fuel?  It comes as a nice Christmas bonus to those in care homes with no housing responsibilities nor concerns about keeping themselves warm.  Madness.

Sarah Felstead ● 5125d

Vanessa"Health tourism" has been a long standing problem. I remember how astonished my parents were many years ago when my mother, visiting from Ireland, needed a doctor as a result of an accident she had in Bournemouth. When my father asked the doctor how much his fee was, the doctor said there would be no charge. My father pointed out that we were from Ireland but the doctor said that made no difference. My father then remarked that England must be a very rich country if it could provide free medical treatment for people from overseas. That was over fifty years ago.an aquainatance of mine, now retired, was an A&E Consultant at a hospital in Brighton. He told me that people were continulally arriving at the hospital direct from Gatwick Airport. He said that his colleagues were reluctant to challenge these health tourists for fear of being accusd of being racist. However he did so because he was himself from Latin America and felt very strongly that the NHS was primarily for UK citizens and residents.

David Giles ● 5126d

David, Ken explained this yesterday when asked the question by Andrew Neil. He wanted to get St. Thomas's to carry out the examinations required - unfortunately these were not available there or at any NHS facility, hence they had no option. Pity your government isn't more exercised about the amount of money owed to our NHS by so-called 'health tourists' - it's millions every year.

Vanessa Smith ● 5126d

Well I am happy if he wishes to seek out extra health checks which are not available on the NHS, that he freely choses to do so.What worries me is the number of stories we hear of people who have gone off to live abroad and because they still have NHS numbers they can pop back and take advantage of NHS services. A few years ago a neighbour was telling me about her relative who lives in the USA and needing some surgery had worked out he could have the operation here plus a long holiday around Europe and it would be cheaper than in the States. I understand that he took the op + holiday package.Then there are all those people who arrive from abroad needing medical attention. I have written before about the Somalian guy in the queue at A&E where his pal told the receptionist that he had been shot and needed to see a Dr. The receptionist was very worried and the pal reassured her that it had been some weeks ago and he had since been traveling to the UK and had just arrived so they had brought him to the hospital. I understand that this man was seen a few months later in outpatients in a wheel chair with an amputation.I read somewhere that each year there are hundreds of women presenting themselves in labour at London hospitals from abroad.It would be nice to hear that positive steps are being taken to reduce costs from misuse of NHS services than to keep hearing how the people in genuine and honest need of the services are being attacked.

Sarah Felstead ● 5126d

So he contributes to the NHS through his taxes but doesn't take from it as he can afford not to?Sounds to me like quite an honourable position to take.

Phil Andrews ● 5126d