THE LOSING battle the government is fighting on hospital waiting lists makes an eloquent case for the NHS urgently needing more doctors and nurses.
It comes as a severe shock, therefore, to discover that it is getting rid of specialists who have cost millions of pounds to train because there is no money to provide them with jobs - even though they are needed.
According to the British Medical Association as many as 400 specialists could be made redundant, wasting the £400 million it has cost to train them.
And although the first to be hit are ones specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology, the association says that, before long, ear, nose and throat consultants, heart specialists and kidney surgeons could also be axed. But even though the BMA's record as an articulate interest group that frequently crosses swords with government may suggest there is a streak of hype in their forecasts, the fact that what they say will happen already is happening to some doctors makes their alarms ones that must be listened to - above all, by ministers.
The problem lies, despite warnings, in government failure to revise its predictions that the number of consultant posts would expand by seven per cent whereas they grew by just two per cent because of the continuing cash squeeze in the NHS.
In short, more gynaecologists and obstetricians were being trained than there were jobs or money for.
But this does not mean that they are not actually needed.
The experts recommend that there should be one consultant available for every 300 births, yet the NHS employs only one for every 550.
This is not just bad planning and a waste of talent and scarce resources, it is a shameful devaluation of the rights of patients to a safe and proper level of care.
And if the government pleads that it cannot afford to correct this then NHS users will tell it that it should afford it.
If need be, money should be taken directly from the National Lottery instead of it being frittered on so many less worthy causes.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article