A knife is driven deeper into the NHS What do the British Medical Association, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Radiologists, the Royal College of Pathologists, the Royal College of Paediatrics, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Institute of Healthcare Management, the Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association, the Faculty of Public Health, the British Psychological Society, and the Allied Health Professions Federation (which represents a further 12 health professional organisations) have in common? All of these professional bodies have come out opposing the NHS reform Bill. Now, within a few days of a petition being set up, more than 100,000 members of the general public have signed it, calling for the Bill to be withdrawn. Polls show that nearly two thirds of voters now don't trust the Government with the NHS. Since I first sat at my desk on the day the Bill was released, back in January last year, and read with increasing horror and disbelief of the plans this Government had for the NHS, the chorus of disapproval has grown and grown. The Government's attempt at dismissing these concerns as groups protecting their members" self interests is not only offensive to the professional bodies, but also does a grave disservice to the general public, who did not vote for these changes and are rightly worried about what the Bill will bring. Now there is mounting concern from within the NHS itself, as well as from academics, about the impact of the Bill on our healthcare system. Writing in The Lancet last week, Professor Allyson Pollock, professor of public health at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, along with another academic and two leading lawyers who have scrutinised this and other aspects of the Bill, concluded that, under the proposals as they currently stand, patients will end up paying for treatments at present provided by the NHS. They argue that at the heart of the Bill is a desire to "introduce a mixed financing system and to abolish the model of tax-financed universal health care on which the NHS is based." It is perfectly possible, of course, to continue with reforming the structure of NHS management without undermining its founding principles, but the bill is as much driven by ideology as it is by necessity. It is this belief that the NHS must be dismantled and the parts sold for scrap to the private sector that explains the intransigent, belligerent insistence that the Bill is pushed through. As the chorus of horrified voices calling for the Bill to be dropped reaches a crescendo, can the Government really keep telling us they're listening while driving the knife deeper and deeper into the heart of the NHS? All aboard the drunk bus - let's look at why we need it Official figures show that treating alcohol abuse costs the NHS about £2.7 billion a year. That is equivalent to £90 for every taxpayer. One only has to stand in A&E on a Friday or Saturday evening to see the extent of the problem and the drain it places on resources. Indeed, £1billion a year is spent just on ambulances and A&E services to look after drunks. And that's before we even consider the cost to society as a whole through crime and lost work - estimated to be between £17billion and £22billion a year. It's heartening to hear that the Government is taking this seriously and is considering proposals to set a minimum price on alcohol. Research has shown that a minimum price of 50p per unit would prevent 2,000 deaths a year. I also welcome the suggestion for "drunk buses" in town centres - mobile units that treat intoxicated people instead of them having to go to A&E departments. But I also think it's important that we look at the underlying reasons why binge drinking is considered acceptable, even a badge of honour among some. Until we do this, there is little hope of any fundamental, meaningful change. For many youngsters in towns up and down the country, getting blind drunk on a weekend has become a way of life. They see nothing wrong with it. Certainly, stiff penalties for those found drunk and causing a nuisance are likely to be sobering for them. But it's also important to invest in community projects and enterprises that provide alternatives to drinking. A little bit of money spent on those things might save a lot in the long run. Scandal of 40 peers who will benefit from reforms Those hoping for a fair and objective evaluation of the NHS reform Bill from peers as it is debated in the House of Lords might be disappointed. It emerged last week that more than 40 peers from across the political spectrum have a financial interest in privatising the NHS. Posts that include acting as advisors and consultants to private healthcare firms and PR and lobbying organisations come with impressive remuneration packages. Yep, we're all in this together, right?