Was the stooshie over health reforms inevitable? From much of the coverage, you’d think
it was always going to end in tears, as people line up to criticise Lansley and rumours about Number 10’s search for
a dignified exit strategy (£) swirl around the Westminster village.
But it didn’t have to be like this. For a start, the basic idea is one that should be easy to sell to the public. Matthew Parris has pointed out (£) that people intuitively look to their GP as the route into healthcare. It shouldn’t be hard to convince the public they should lead commissioning.
It’s been difficult mainly because the health professionals aren’t on-side. This could have been largely avoided.The major health lobbies all agree with the principle of clinical leadership in structuring services. Unease and dissent has increased thanks to the scale and pace, tight budgetary context, and telling lack of detail in DoH plans.
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