0:00
just spending over the last 17 years has had no impact on the nation's health
0:05
That's right. Lord Bethel, who served under Boris Johnson, says that funding for the NHS service has risen from £100 billion
0:12
to actually £210 billion since 2009. Now, he now warns that the UK faces a social, moral and economic crisis
0:22
with billions of quid simply being wasted. Well, I'm delighted to be joined in the studio by the media campaign manager
0:28
of the Taxpayers Alliance, William Yorwood. William Yorwood, welcome to Westminster. Isn't it funny how every government
0:35
since basically the dawn of time has said the answer to the NHS
0:39
is shoveling endless amounts of money into it. It's been a political addiction
0:44
Yes. Irrespective of party, now the truth is out. It's simply money wasted
0:49
Yeah, and we at the Taxpayers Alliance have called this out for years and you're absolutely spot on to call it an addiction
0:53
because what politicians like to do is throw money at the problem rather than actually consider what the internal problems of the NHS are
1:00
And there's multiple problems with the National Health Care Service. First of all, it was a system designed for the 1950s
1:05
not the 21st century to begin with. Second of all, the NHS has not been helped by the population explosion
1:10
not just in birth rates but in mass migration, both legal and illegal
1:14
And third of all, the NHS, I think, is significantly too top-heavy. I remember coming on your show last year to talk about NHS Richlist
1:20
first time it had ever been done, which revealed that thousands of senior managers
1:24
I think over 1 senior managers were on over a year and 512 senior managers were earning more than the Prime Minister which is ridiculous And there were some chief executives at these NHS trusts Martin who were earning over a year all the while the NHS trusts were really down in the list in regards to waiting lists and stuff So there plenty of waste and inefficiencies in the healthcare
1:45
system and throwing more money at the problem is clearly just not the answer
1:50
There was one absolutely mind-blowing piece of information in this report today and it's this
1:55
OAPs today live 10 years of their life in poor health. People born today will live twice as long
2:02
in poor health, 20 years, a quarter of their life. QED were getting less healthy
2:09
and we can throw all the money in the world at it. It won't change a damn thing. If that's a diagnosis, what's the treatment
2:16
Well, I think, obviously, people would say that they want to install some sort of nanny state policies
2:20
on the average member of the British public, but I'm very, very concerned about the effects of those
2:24
because often when people promote those kind of policies, they say, oh, it doesn't go far enough
2:28
So, for example, the smoking ban, for example, originally it was just about restricting it to, you know, 18-year-olds, like we said
2:34
then there was plain packaging, banning smoking inside, and now it's gone to the fact that, oh, no
2:38
we're going to phase it out completely, and then also actually many groups don't want to ban it completely
2:42
Now, I'm not in favour of taking away, you know, fun and enjoyment from people. The problem, I think, actually, Martin, to deal with this
2:47
is by having a radical rethink about how our healthcare system works. We have lots of examples out there from Australia
2:54
from France, from Germany, on how to get better performance per pound
2:58
and yet the issue is, in this country, We've treated the NHS like a sacred cow for far too long
3:03
And I think it's something really radical to get out of this situation. But I think we live in radical times where it could happen
3:08
The problem with all of that is as you said it now a faith a religion We saw especially during COVID our NHS Yes of course Our NHS is inefficient it a waste of money it isn working it isn improving people life chances
3:24
life expectancy is flatlining despite medical advances, and so it needs root and branch over
3:30
Well, the problem is, no politician seems to want to do that. If this were a private business, William Yorwood
3:37
it would fail its MOT. It would be declared bankrupt. root. Half the top brass will be sacked tomorrow morning. Why does the NHS get special dispensation
3:45
Because we, for years, both in the media and in our political class and also just individuals out
3:51
there in Britain, have decided that they are going to treat the National Healthcare Service
3:54
like a religion. And I think actually, Martin, there's a slight positive here. Since COVID
3:59
I think there's been a slight crack in that view. There are still some people out there who view it
4:03
as a religion and don't want to hear any criticism of it because they immediately think you're trying to privatise it, you're trying to do this. Actually, there's been a crack in the system
4:10
because they realised over COVID how inefficient, how bloated, and how just the system is just
4:14
not working for the 21st century. So I think actually what we can see from our politicians
4:18
now, and they should be brave enough to do this, is say, okay guys, we've had this system
4:22
for quite a long time now, and it's been a great system for its time, but we need a new
4:26
system for the 21st century, and here's the proposals to do so. And I think if you do
4:30
that, honestly, and also if you say to average British taxpayers, actually guys, you're going
4:34
me saving some money here, isn't that a good thing and then we can cut your taxes so you have more money in your back pocket, sounds like a good deal to me
4:40
I reckon you and me could come up with five ideas right now, let's do it
4:44
Let's do it, why not. Let's get rid of all DEI. Absolutely. So let half the HR department how about we just get rid of huge tranches of middle management you know the pay rises for junior resident doctors increased by 29 These kind of pay deals fly in the face of all logic of any private sector
5:04
Drug procurement. How about we just buy things? The NHS charge is more for paracetamol than a supermarket
5:11
It's ridiculous. But there are so many areas for cost savings, and yet why are they reluctant to take them on
5:16
Yeah, indeed. I mean, also, the thing that we found at the TPA is that actually the NHS is now paying over 20% more for its electricity bills every single year
5:24
That's completely crazy. And that's one area it can save money. And to go back to the conversation about middle management and senior management, I want to see connection between pay and performance in the National Health Care Service
5:34
Why is it fair, for example, on an NHS register list, the best performing NHS trust had a chief executive who was only earning 100 grand
5:40
while one of the worst performing NHS trusts had a senior leader
5:44
who earned over £380,000 a year. How does that make any sense at all
5:49
And also a third point here, the NHS, I think, just needs to
5:53
at least the doctors and stuff, need to recognise that actually you can't just go cap in hand to the government every five minutes
5:58
to ask for more and more money, then go on strike, and then also then threaten to leave the country
6:02
William Yearwood, speaking truth as ever, thank you very much for joining us here in the studio. I appreciate your time now
6:06
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care has told GB News this
6:10
The Health and Social Care Secretary has set a clear mission to close the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest parts
6:16
of our country so everyone lives well for longer. Through our 10-year health plan
6:20
we are shifting the focus of the NHS from sickness to prevention. Just this week, we announced new incentives for GPs to do more
6:27
to prevent disease through vaccinations, screening and weight loss. Well, coming up next..
