Pressure groups in action: carry on, doctor

Futher to my posting yesterday about recent examples of pressure group activity, news from the BMA conference this week is worthy of note.

The doctors’ trade union has accused the government of pursuing radical shake up plans that do not show evidence of how they will improve the health service. This week the conference narrowly voted against dropping its plan of critical engagement with Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary. It did, however, vote in favour of calling on the government to drop its health bill before more consultation and consideration could be carried out.

This week’s events illustrate how even so called insider groups can often cast aside the rules of the game and use public forums to openly criticise the government.

It is also worth considering the extent to which what went on this week at the BMA conference accurately represented the concerns of doctors and thus whether the BMA as a group is internally democratic. After all, it is often said that pgs are less democratic because they don’t elect their leaders and in some way ordinary members have less influence than members of parties.

Well it seems that the BMA leader Dr Hamish Meldrum is far from a despot out of touch with his fellow doctors and his comments about “dangerous reforms” chime with the feelings of his members. By comparison I wonder if BMA members are more or less satisfied with their leader’s performance than members of the Liberal Democrats are with their leader (especially on the issue of tuition fees).

This is what Meldrum is reported to have said this week:

“BMA leader Dr Hamish Meldrum said he would rather see the NHS as the preferred provider instead of having a level playing field with the big health companies.

He said it was now time to be “ratcheting up” the concerns, but added a total opposition of the bill would send the “wrong message”.

“The government’s proposed reforms have far-reaching and potentially irreversible consequences for how the NHS is run and the way we deliver care to our patients.”“

From the same site you can see Meldrum being interviewed.