The NHS: it's not all bad

The political battle over the National Health Service is the general election debate that never happened.

William Hague picked the euro as his main fight. But now the new Conservative leader, Iain Duncan Smith, has shown he is determined to scrap with the Prime Minister on his own chosen ground - public services.

Last week IDS took up the case of Rose Addis, first highlighted by the Evening Standard, and found himself accused by Labour of being overwhelmingly negative about the NHS; of ignoring the millions of patients who had experienced good treatment; and of ignoring the very real developments in specialist care. As the Standard has repeatedly emphasised, we agree with Tony Blair; although it would be foolish to believe that everything is right with the NHS, not everything is wrong. It is a slight on the hundreds of thousands employed at hospitals throughout Britain to suggest otherwise.

Here we pick out six areas where improvements are being made across hospitals in London. The extra £21billion that has gone into the NHS since Labour came to power in 1997 has undoubtedly allowed specialists to bring about important changes, particularly in the way drugs are prescribed.

After last week's gloomy news we can justly point to some astonishing work in London hospitals. Professor Kypros Nicolaides is giving blood transfusions to unborn babies at King's College Hospital, a technique not available when Labour first came to power.

The Royal Marsden is now administering a drug which will prevent cancer patients from having their limbs amputated. At Great Ormond Street, advances in genetic research mean that more children than ever are being diagnosed quickly with conditions that can be treated.

Much of the work is funded by pharmaceutical companies or charities, rather than the Government. It is still difficult for scientists to get long-term funding from the Medical Research Council. The public also takes the view that scientific advances happen anyway and the best thing a politician can do is to leave them alone to get on with it.

But there are successes within the mainstream NHS. London's air ambulance is a shining example. Statistics also prove that despite the well publicised hitches, emergency care is improving every year.

But the gateway to the NHS, through its casualty doors, appears to be shabbier than ever, and the one area the Government has to focus on is A&E admissions. Without genuine changes in casualty departments, no one is going to believe the NHS is on the mend.

Foetal medicine and fertility
Stroke and heart disease
Cancer
Helicopter Emergency Service
Midwifery
Children's services