Consultitis: Gordon's chronic tax condition

I received a parcel after Christmas that briefly got me excited at the thought of a late present from Great Aunt Maud. However, the package contained 80 booklets for me to share with my patients 'Healthcare for London: Consulting the Capital'.

I assume these booklets have gone out to every Primary Care practitioner in London - GPs, optometrists, dentists and pharmacists. That's across 32 PCTs when I last counted. Add to that distribution amongst NHS Hospital Trusts. Add to that the website, hard-copy, 'free' phone line and - yes it's true - roadshow costs. Add to that the nationwide polling being done by snail-mail.... Ipsos-Mori must be laughing all the way to the bank. With our money. And how many previous 'consultations' [by the way the nuLab definition of that word means to colonise, not to garner] have there been in the last 10 years, just on NHS reform? Even the Department of Health called the last consultation, which cost £1m, 'a sham'. Even if there weren't patients being denied aricept and lucentis on cost grounds, this would still be criminal waste.