A row erupted after the NHS began removing ‘inappropriate’ suggestions on its consultation page.
Yesterday, NHS Change went live as part of Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s ‘Ten Year Health Plan for England’, which called on the public and staff to have their say on the health service .
Billed as the Department of Health and Social Care’s “biggest national conversation on the future of the NHS since its birth”, comments aimed at “fixing the NHS” can be submitted until the end of the year.
Since its launch, the page has been flooded with suggestions, some serious, others less so.
Row over free speech erupts as NHS consultation page removes suggestions that go too far
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A recommendation titled “Mandatory Euthanasia to Fill Hospital Beds” suggested that overweight and obese people who could receive Ozempic to help them lose weight and re-enter the workforce should instead end their lives to free up space in services.
Meanwhile, another article suggested the health service should “privatize everything” and place payment points at “every stage of treatment, at every door in every building”.
A third suggested there should be a BMI maximum for nurses, while conversely, installing beer taps in hospitals was another.
Some of the controversial posts have since been removed, with the Department of Health telling the BBC it was reviewing material that was “clearly inappropriate or irrelevant”.
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Yesterday, NHS Change went live
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However, the removal of the posts caused a ruckus online, with some criticizing the NHS for inhibiting free speech.
One said: “The NHS has finally started removing some inquiry responses from its website despite widespread public support.
“Classic Labor censorship. What happened to free speech?
One online user criticized the consultation for limiting responses. They said: “The NHS said ‘we want to hear your thoughts’, before later deciding ‘we don’t like your thoughts’.
Another said: “Suppress dissenting voices and call it ‘consultation’? Looks like Labour’s spin machine is in overdrive. Orwell warned us about this slippery slope. Free speech is not free under the leadership of Granny Harmer.
A third said: “I guess the NHS just doesn’t do satire! »
Wes Streeting has launched a consultation to seek feedback on health services as part of his ‘Ten Year Health Plan for England’
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However, others were in favor of removing the posts. “If it were me leading the consultation, I would eliminate this idiocy too,” said one.
Other people supported the removal, citing the offensive content of some recommendations. One user said “some of them were very, very racist,” while another said: “So you support euthanasia of fat people, right?” Raw.”
Streeting mocked some of the more flimsy and irrelevant suggestions, posting online that a suggestion about putting a Wetherspoons pub in every hospital had “unfortunately been vetoed by the Chancellor”.
The Department of Health did not confirm which posts it was removing, but a spokesperson said the moderation team removed content that was “clearly inappropriate or irrelevant”.
Announcing the public consultation, Streeting said: “Today the NHS is facing the worst crisis in its history.
“But even though the NHS is broken, it is not beaten. Together we can fix it.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer added: “This is a portal where you can feed your ideas, but there will be, I think, some sort of discussion, a chat element as well, where people can consult other ideas. .”