Nhs

Andrew Lansley’s health reforms have never been in the rosiest of health; but, as Pete observed yesterday, the current malaise may leave permanent damage. Paul Waugh has been speaking to Alan Milburn and the modernising former Health Secretary’s words speak volumes about Lansley’s trails: “I’m amazed they allowed themselves to get into talk about privatisation and cuts. Having originally said this was a revolution they’re now saying it’s just evolution of Labour’s reforms. Politically, it doesn’t make sense. “Look, a managed form of competition is fine. The problem is that the lynchpin of the reforms was GP commissioning. “It’s a good idea to get family doctors to be aware of

And so it came to pass. After sniping at Andrew Lansley’s health reforms from the day they were announced — at one point describing them as a “slash and burn approach” — the British Medical Association has today voted to call on the Health Secretary to withdraw his Bill entirely. The speech that the BMA Council Chairman, Hamish Meldrum delivered this morning captures the tenor of their opposition: “…what we have is an often contradictory set of proposals, driven by ideology rather than evidence, enshrined in ill-thought-through legislation and implemented in a rush during a major economic downturn.” So what to make of it all? Normally, another “union opposes coalition”

An anti-cuts campaign website, False Economy, claims that 50,000 NHS jobs will be lost over the next four years. It’s a bald, headline grabbing figure and the response has been predictably feverish.   But tug a little, and the numbers unravel. One of the key points is made by False Economy themselves: that “most of the cuts are likely to be achieved through natural wastage” – in other words, by people moving on, or retiring, of their own accord. In figures highlighted by the Department of Health, for instance, one foundation trust expects to shed 14 per cent of its workforce through natural wastage by 2013. The health service may

Last week, Reform published its 2011 public service reform scorecard. It judged each major government department against the three criteria set out by David Cameron: accountability, flexibility and value for money. The report finds the Home Office’s policing reforms succeeding on all three fronts, but inconsistency across other government departments. The Government’s health reforms are awarded grade D overall, with an E for accountability, a D for flexibility and a D for value for money. Here’s how the coalition can get its NHS reforms back on track.   The government has recognised the need for fundamental reform of the NHS. The proposals announced in the July 2010 White Paper are

Last November, Margaret Forrester, a mental health worker for the Central North West London Mental Health Trust in Camden was suspended for giving a colleague a charity booklet called “Forsaken – Women From Taunton Talk About Abortion” to a colleague –  they’d been discussing the information they offered to patients. It had the stories of five women who had experienced what the author describes as ‘post-abortion syndrome’, including depression, relationship issues, suicidal feelings and fertility problems. So, the downside of abortion, then. To begin with – no problem. Her colleague didn’t seem offended. But a few days later her manager told her she was being sent home on ‘special leave

It is imperative that the coalition keeps its nerves and its composure during the months ahead. 2011 will try the coalition’s fortitude, its deficit reduction plan and its public service reform programme will both come under sustained attack. It is vital that the coalition continues to explain clearly and patiently why it is doing what it is doing. Watching the Andrew Marr show this morning, I was struck by how tetchy Andrew Lansley was during his interview. Right from the off, he seemed irritated at Marr’s questions. Some of this irritation was understandable. Lansley’s reforms are always treated as if they have come out of the blue, when Lansley talked extensively

A consensus has formed in the commentariat that besides George Osborne’s stewardship of the economy, Andrew Lansley’s healthcare reforms could become the government’s vote-loser. The political facts are as simple as the forms are complex. One, David Cameron ran a campaign based on a promise to protect the NHS. Many people thought that meant from cuts and culls alike. The Health Secretary’s reforms look, whatever the truth may be, like they are going back on the PM’s promise. Second, the reforms can only be successful if a range of stakeholders – voters, practitioners, analysts – have been brought along, and had a chance to debate the issues. What Michael Gove

The coalition is facing more protests today over its plans to abolish Primary Care Trusts. But PCTs are ripe for abolition. Their bureaucracy and management costs have ballooned in recent years and they have been wildly unpopular in some parts of the country for their role in pushing for hospital closures. They have failed to make the NHS more efficient and innovative and they have been responsible for many of the heart-wrenching cases of patients failing to get drugs for conditions like cancer.   In contrast, GPs are one of the most trusted groups in the NHS. Yes, there are examples of poor practice, but generally patients have high respect

More women than ever are having their babies by Caesarian section. Not the old last-resort emergency type, either; the ones where mothers howl for days, to the point of peril for self or child, until mercy descends in a scalpel — life-saving, but adding to existing trauma. No. This marked increase, by as much as 40 per cent in one year at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, has been among women who elect a Caesarian; those who plan, often months in advance, to be delivered calmly, swiftly and relatively free of pain in a modern, controlled, 21st-century environment. In short: an increase in women who are aware that there is a choice and

Andrew Lansley’s rhetoric is strident: ‘It’s time for politicians to stop telling people to make healthy choices. Rather than lecturing people about their habits we will give them the support they need… we will support leadership from within communities.’ One could be forgiven for thinking that the Health White Paper will inaugurate a completely new dawn. It doesn’t. Many of Lansley’s initiatives are resuscitated Labour policies: taxes on alcohol and tobacco and incentivising healthy living through choice are tried and tested formulas that have had limited past success in every field bar raising revenue. Lansley’s White Paper is not a testament of radicalism, but it is quietly revolutionary nonetheless. Of