Writing in The Times today, Stephens says that the vaccination programme will inspire fundamental changes in the way that the NHS cares for people. Health workers will encourage the most vulnerable to “remain healthy” rather than wait for them to get sick.
According to Stephens, bin men will alert doctors when people become too frail to put out their rubbish. GP’s and councils will work together to identify people most likely to become ill and intervene before it happens. Sound scary? It is.
Embarking on some of the biggest reforms in decades, the NHS aims to move the focus away from treatment and onto prevention. It sounds benign and even pragmatic. It isn’t.
In his Times column today, Simon Stephens says that the vaccination drive has shown how powerful this approach can become, if it is regarded as a central priority. According to The Times:
Local areas will be told to identify the people most likely to develop cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other serious illness, work out how to reduce that risk and then encourage them to take up the offer.
How exactly would local authority’s encourage people to take up the offer? Simon Stephens doesn’t say. And what exactly will be on offer? That’s easy. Vaccines (or gene therapy drugs) and lots of them.
As I’ve said in a recent column, vaccines are in development for obesity, diabetes, allergies, Alzheimer’s and pretty much anything you can think of.
Stephen’s says that “the NHS will “identify and tackle the causes of ill health, from poor housing to lifestyle.”
People will be encouraged to make lifestyle changes by health visitors sent to their homes by the local authority. Lifestyle changes might mean taking more exercise, quitting smoking, cutting back on the booze or even a cap on your daily calorie intake. How Orwellian. ...<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>...