Jeremy Hunt’s dismal legacy in the NHS and social care
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Version 0 of 1. Letters: Readers respond to a piece by Jeremy Hunt and reflect on his handling of the NHS when he was health secretary How does Jeremy Hunt sleep at night (We Tories must keep our word – and fix the social care crisis now, 13 July)? It should be remembered that he was a high-profile health secretary for many years in a government that undertook the relentless process of “streamlining” the NHS, which effectively eroded all its spare capacity; of resisting all attempts to pay NHS staff a decent wage for the work that they do; and of intensifying the privatisation of the increasingly slimline – ie, attractive and potentially profitable – product of his labours. And all the while, his government so emasculated council finances that it became, in effect, impossible for them to manage their responsibilities in the social care sector. For him now to be the chair of the Commons health and social care select committee that is responsible for advising on how to deal with the mess he left behind, and to set himself up in his article as some sort of people’s champion, is incredible. If he could let us all know how he manages to get a good night’s sleep with that legacy from his past, I’m sure millions of people, patients and staff, who are suffering the effects of his tenure as health secretary would benefit, as would the NHS, which could thereby probably save a fortune in prescriptions for antidepressants and sleeping pills. John Westbrook Manchester • Jeremy Hunt writing in the Guardian? I’m speechless, and only slightly mollified by Alan Marsden’s letter on the opposite page citing Hunt, among others, as culpable. Jeanette Hamilton Buxton, Derbyshire • Jeremy Hunt “welcomes” the fact that the prime minister has committed to finding a long-term solution to the crisis in social care. In the election campaign, Boris Johnson said he had a solution to social care, which is rather different. He also said he had an “oven-ready” deal with the EU. These statements were of a different order to “get Brexit done” – some sort of vague promise. Since he now says he is committed to finding a solution to social care, and we don’t yet have a deal with the EU, they were simply not true. Or, to put it more bluntly, they were lies. Norman Gowar London • Jeremy Hunt has a short memory. He advocates introducing Andrew Dilnot’s proposal for a cap on care costs. But the Dilnot proposal is already on the statute book – see section 15 of the Care Act 2014, passed by parliament while Mr Hunt was the health secretary. All that is needed to bring it into force is a current minister’s signature. Christopher Packer London • Jeremy Hunt is right that we need “a once-and-for-all fix” for the care crisis, but his suggested solutions will not provide the answer. The Dilnot cap on care costs does not address inequity – it would particularly benefit wealthier older people and their families. It wouldn’t provide extra resources to the underfunded care system. Instead it would substitute public funding for private funding while adding a new and complex system of means-testing. And it wouldn’t support the much-needed integration of care with health. For these reasons, and others including its cost, the Conservative government in which Mr Hunt served did not implement the Dilnot cap. A better approach would be to agree a new vision for care that enables older and disabled people and their families to get the support they want, when and where they want it. Then we could debate how to fund it fairly, simply and sustainably. Stephen Burke Director, United for All Ages • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters |