Carers and the Careless

The re-election of a Conservative government will mean a continuation of current policies towards the National Health Service (NHS) which will be bad for the health of many women. It will mean a decline in the resources available to meet growing health needs; further expansion of the private sector; the 'commercialization' of various activities within the NHS itself, and the 'domestication' of caring through an even greater reliance on unpaid (usually female) labour in the home. These developments will affect the quality of women's lives as users of the NHS, as workers in the service and as carers of those for whom the state will no longer take responsibility. During the run-up to the 1987 election there was heated debate about the state of the NHS, and particularly about levels of health spending. While the figures are difficult to interpret, there can be no doubt that Conservative policy over the past few years has been to restrict the rate of growth of the NHS very severely, and this will certainly continue (Radical Statistics Health Group, 1987). It is generally accepted that, at minimum, a 2 per cent real increase in resources is needed each year in order just to keep pace with the increasing number of elderly people in the population and with developments in medical technology. However, plans for the next few years suggest that even this target will not be met. Growth is expected to fall to 1.4 per cent this year (1987-88) and to 0.9 per cent next year. In 1989-90 it is planned to be 1 per cent. Because the demand for services will be rising, this means that the health service will continue to be under serious financial strain (Robinson and Judge, 1987). For most people, the most obvious sign of dwindling resources is a reduction in the quantity and quality of basic services. This will continue to hit women hardest since they are the major users of the health service, both for themselves and on behalf of others, particularly children. Few will be willing and/or able to opt out into the private sector, and hence the burden of deteriorating standards of care will fall

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• Reduction in Mortality From Breast Cancer After Mass Screening With Mammography

  Open Access•Làszló Tabár, A Gad et al.•The Lancet•1985

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