The Ilford North MP said if Labor won the election he would not hesitate to oppose unions holding up the cause of patients, singling out the British Medical Association (BMA) for being “hostile” to the idea that patients should to expect better standards.
“One of the things I find disappointing, given that we have committed to more staff, I can’t understand why the BLS is so hostile to the idea that with more staff should come better standards for patients” , he said, accusing the union of “living on another planet.”
“Whenever I point out the appalling state of access to primary care, where [a] a record two million people are waiting over a month to see their GP, I’m being treated like some kind of heretic by the NHS – who seem to think that any criticism of patient access to primary care is somehow an attack on GPs.” he added.
“If anyone in the NHS thinks they can demand more investment without demonstrating better standards for patients, they have a different opinion. We will not have a ‘something for nothing’ culture in the NHS with Labour.
Mr Streeting said he was horrified when a conference of GPs recently voted to cut core surgery hours to nine to five.
“I think the BMA does doctors a disservice when they vote on proposals that look like they live on another planet and, worst of all, [aren’t] thinking of the best interest of the patients,” he said.
The proposal at a conference of local medical boards in England last month was passed, with the BMA’s most senior GP telling colleagues to “cut back on your work” and vowing to “see what we can agree” after the vote.
“I’m not afraid to take on interests and I’m not afraid to say no to the BMA or other unions – and I think people respect that honesty,” Mr Streeting said, adding that he would take on those his party blocked NHS reform.
“I think there is always a danger in the Labor Party that since we created the NHS we have been reluctant to criticize performance… we can’t afford to be romantic and hazy about the health service. It is a service, not a shrine,” he said.
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