VIEWPOINT FOR 26 JUNE 2008
FROM DR RICHARD TAYLOR

I expressed my disappointment with the House of Commons over the 42-day pre-charge detention debate last week. 
I have again been saddened this week. 

The Conservatives put in a sensible non-partisan motion to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the NHS and instead of a celebration it turned into a very poorly attended debate almost entirely given over to party political bickering. At the nadir there were precisely 18 MPs in the chamber! 

The Tories were blamed remorselessly, repeatedly and interminably for opposing the institution of the NHS 60 years ago when very few current Tory MPs were even alive and the motion recognised "the support from all political parties for the NHS……" 

I only had eight minutes to reminisce over my 50 years associated with the NHS and to celebrate and praise the enormous developments and achievements of all staff, researchers, patients and volunteers and to conclude by pointing to some of the potential threats to the NHS as we have known it – inefficient use of resources, instances of poor quality of care, continued reorganisations often ill-thought through and potential threats from commercialisation.
________

The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary made statements in the House about Europe and Zimbabwe. 

• The result of the Irish referendum appears to have had little effect on our government or the rest of Europe 
• and for Zimbabwe we are still reliant on sanctions and the freezing of bank accounts in other countries belonging to, in the PM's words, "the people responsible for running the criminal cabal surrounding Mugabe in Zimbabwe." 

At last the UN and some of the other African nations appear to be more concerned.
________

Many people have sent me postcards supporting local post offices and the Post Office card account. 
I regret I cannot reply to all the senders but I have written to the sub-postmasters who have collected large numbers of cards and I am supporting the moves in London to attempt to preserve both the accounts and the remaining local post offices as we have already lost so many. 

We are told that the reason for the closures is that the Post Office is losing huge amounts of money and that for this reason keeping the existing network is not possible. 
Loss of the card account will be another nail in the coffin but maintaining this and finding new functions, for example the issue of identity cards, will be the only way of maintaining some of our branches.
________

The Kidderminster Carnival started on a cold wet morning but the floats and the marchers in bands, dancing groups, groups dressed around a theme and individuals in drag or other exotic garb all turned up with their usual indomitable spirit and enthusiasm. The rain relented by the time we reached the carnival field and the crowds arrived to make the day a great success after all. We forget the hard work from the small number of organisers and marshals that is necessary for the day to go ahead. Our thanks are due to them and especially those who assisted the huge articulated lorries in the procession to negotiate the shopping centre with its hazardously placed market stalls.

R.T.

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