Christmas present

One of the mysteries about the Conservatives over the past few years has been their devotion to the National Health Service, probably believing that this might help them prove that they are no longer the ‘nasty party’. Ever since the formation of the Coalition Government nearly six months ago, the talk has all been of cuts and October’s Comprehensive Spending Review showed large cuts in most departments, but with the NHS and all its works being exempt.

Fair enough.  In their manifesto, the Conservatives said: ‘We will guarantee that health spending increases in real terms in each year of the Parliament’. They also said: ‘We are committed to an NHS that is free at the point of use and available to everyone based on need, not the ability to pay.’ However as we all know in NHS dentistry, whether a patient has a crown or an extraction depends in part on their ability to pay the Band 3 patients’ charge.