NHS policy is increasingly bizarre

NHS policy is increasingly bizarre - and worrying.

Over the summer, for example, we've seen two Government health "initiatives": plans to send patients abroad and a recruitment drive to persuade more doctors from other countries to our NHS.

Now these ideas are not inherently wrong. But both are ill-thought through and fail to address underlying issues. Ministers may be worried waiting lists are growing again, but knee-jerk policies won't cut them.

Take sending patients abroad for operations. If you have been in pain for months (or years), perhaps you are prepared to travel to Germany for a hip replacement.

But should you have to? Some elderly people needing hip operations may never have been abroad before, heightening their anxiety. Is it good medical practice? Especially as many family and friends cannot visit to assist recuperation. Is it really cost effective, given the extra travel and time involved?

Recruiting doctors abroad of course is hardly new. The NHS has for years enjoyed - and partly survived on - the skills and dedication of foreign-trained doctors. Kingston Hospital has led on recruiting nurses abroad: we now benefit from the work of nearly 150 nurses from the Philippines and Singapore.

Yet is it sustainable, long term, to run a health service with staff on short term contracts from abroad? Given the NHS's diminishing international reputation and its uncompetitive salaries, can we really expect to attract the best doctors?

The reality is that many doctors and nurses are leaving our NHS - either for other employment here or to go abroad themselves. Exporting patients too isn't the answer!

A more positive alternative is to focus more attention on improving pay and conditions for NHS staff, whether in hospitals or primary care. That would improve retention, and make the NHS a career of first choice.