Two new Tory health policies

Localism and results-based healthcare are central to the Tories’ NHS reform measures. They plan to arrest the widening gap between the life expectancy of rich and poor by introducing a Health Premium, a new policy, to direct funds to the poorest communities. The second new initiative is the creation of ‘maternity networks’, which will link hospitals, doctors, charities, volunteers and consultants, replacing top-down management with co-operation in a bid to widen expertis, improve services and lower costs.

This reflects the belief that local solutions can have national benefits and concurs with the broader aspects of Tory policy regarding the state and welfare provision. There is still no precise detail about how this will be afforded, and the hostage to fortune ring-fenced spending pledge remains. The catchy slogan is: cut the deficit, not the NHS, but it’s very plausible that the bright ideas, which I think the two new polices are, will never materialise.