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Healthcare and the NHS: UKIP Policy

Saturday, 20th March 2010

UKIP believes strongly in the principles of the NHS, which should continue to deliver care free at the point of delivery on the basis of need, not ability to pay.  However, we believe NHS management is bureaucratic and wasteful, and that major reform is vital to retain and improve NHS healthcare services. UKIP will:

· Make no cuts in NHS frontline health services but substantially reduce NHS waste and bureaucracy

· Make the NHS directly and democratically accountable. We will introduce new elected County Health Boards. These Boards will be made up primarily of healthcare professionals who will be elected by the county’s voters every four years in the manner of local council elections 

· Improve NHS management and accountability, and use NHS funds better, by abolishing overlapping layers of bureaucracy such as EU-inspired Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts. Over time, UKIP will replace Hospital, Foundation, NHS Care and Ambulance Service Trusts with equivalent franchises

· Improve patient choice by introducing ‘Health Credit Vouchers’, which will enable people to opt out of the NHS public healthcare system entirely if they so wish. UK citizens will apply to their GP for vouchers that can be paid to the private health insurer of their choice

· Put medical staff back at the heart of the NHS, replacing bureaucrats and managers. Franchises will require clinically-trained Matrons to run hospitals, taking a dominant role on wards and primary responsibility for hospital cleanliness and the fight against MRSA. On-the-job nurse training and hospital-based colleges will replace most university courses

· Re-examine community care and support congregate communities for people with learning disabilities

· Restore free eye tests and dental check-ups for all UK citizens

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