NHS England gone

[GibbosEmpire]

Government have abolished NHS England and will take political control, they say its to "help ensure the provision of high quality healthcare services". It's really to make cuts and ultimately privatise the NHS isn't it?

 

[Chemicalworker]

No

 

[Cambsred]

If the conservatives were to abolish NHS England for more government oversight I think there would certainly be concerns and outrage.

I thought one of the few things the Lansley reforms did well was provide more independent oversight to Simon Stevens at the time and the NHS governing itself.

I've only really read the headlines, will dig deeper in the coming days.

 

[Norman_Conquest]

If the conservatives were to abolish NHS England for more government oversight I think there would certainly be concerns and outrage.

I thought one of the few things the Lansley reforms did well was provide more independent oversight to Simon Stevens at the time and the NHS governing itself.

I've only really read the headlines, will dig deeper in the coming days.

Or are they removing a body of well paid jobs that aren't really needed?

With the NHS under ministerial control, elected politicians are directly responsible for its performance, rather than an independent body, and if done effectively, it could cut red tape could free up resources for frontline staff and improve efficiency. Ministers could implement reforms more quickly rather than relying on NHS England, which operated independently.

It all depends on how it's implemented. If Labour genuinely cuts waste and improves services, it could be a positive step. But if it leads to more political meddling and instability, it could make things worse.

Keir Starmer abolishes health service’s executive body NHS England

Prime minister brings health service back under ‘democratic control’ of ministers

www.theguardian.com

 

[Hicktonpen10]

Hopefully this is only the start of getting rid of these huge arms length organisations that must be riddled with waste. Surely the DHSC should be running the NHS. Home Office for passports and the like.

 

[American_Mary]

One of the major criticisms of the NHS was too much money was being spent on middle management and administrators.

I’m sure this is an area of cost reduction that has been looked at and these services have been taken under direct governmental control to reduce overheads and allow a redirection of funds to medical personnel and equipment.

For me it’s a step away from privatisation and something I’d like to see follow in other essential services.

 

[JonnyHistory]

If the money saved is reinvested into training and front line staff then I can support it, if they cut and make a "saving" without other reform and reinvestment this is nothing but backdoor austerity.

 

[SmallTown]

Hopefully this is a step in debloating the NHS. It's a bold move because it's kind of a lose lose. The right will say "see, Labour hate the NHS" and the left will complain of job losses and cuts

 

[Boro.Fur]

NHS England employs 13,500 staff. What is it doing that can't be done with existing resources? People are crying out for waiting list reductions and earlier cancer treatment. This will help.

 

[Zoophonic]

One of the major criticisms of the NHS was too much money was being spent on middle management and administrators.

I’m sure this is an area of cost reduction that has been looked at and these services have been taken under direct governmental control to reduce overheads and allow a redirect funds to medical personnel and equipment.

For me it’s a step away from privatisation and something I’d like to see follow in other essential services.

I support the decision for exactly those reasons too.

 

[festa5]

If the conservatives were to abolish NHS England for more government oversight I think there would certainly be concerns and outrage.

I thought one of the few things the Lansley reforms did well was provide more independent oversight to Simon Stevens at the time and the NHS governing itself.

I've only really read the headlines, will dig deeper in the coming days.

Think I had the opposite view (and I worked in ministerial briefing in the department of health at the time).

I always (cynically maybe) thought a big part of it was about reducing government accountability for the NHS.

I lost count of the number of Parliamentary Questions I ended up fobbing off with "this is a matter for the NHS" (i.e. nothing to do with us, blame the NHS).

Bringing this into DHSC, for me, means taking more ownership of it.

If they fail to deliver now, there's no hiding from it.

 

[Corcaigh_the_Cat]

The Tories wouldn't have introduced it if it was to benefit the majority of us.

 

[Nano]

One of the major criticisms of the NHS was too much money was being spent on middle management and administrators.

I’m sure this is an area of cost reduction that has been looked at and these services have been taken under direct governmental control to reduce overheads and allow a redirect funds to medical personnel and equipment.

For me it’s a step away from privatisation and something I’d like to see follow in other essential services.

It's a major criticism by people that don't understand how organisations work. It's really easy to write headlines about how many nurses we could have if we didn't have these managers but organisations need managers. The NHS is severely under-managed.

3% of the NHS are managers. Compared to the 9.5% which is typical of the UK workforce it is not the problem. Take them away and who does the managing? It is the clinical staff. When they are doing admin and attending meetings and running services they are not seeing patients.

We need better managers. Not less of them.

Are there too many NHS managers?

In times of hardship, the value of NHS managers is often scrutinised - what do they do and are they worth it?

www.nhsconfed.org

 

[Cardiffdaffs]

Public Health England should be the next in the firing line.

 

[Cardiffdaffs]

Think I had the opposite view (and I worked in ministerial briefing in the department of health at the time).

I always (cynically maybe) thought a big part of it was about reducing government accountability for the NHS.

I lost count of the number of Parliamentary Questions I ended up fobbing off with "this is a matter for the NHS" (i.e. nothing to do with us, blame the NHS).

Bringing this into DHSC, for me, means taking more ownership of it.

If they fail to deliver now, there's no hiding from it.

As someone who favours renationalising certain public services I cant argue against lmore Governmental accountability in providing such services. Yes the execution has to be right but the idea is a good one.

 

[afcb_acklam]

I have absolutely no idea about any of it

 

[xxlshirts_fit_all]

I don’t fully or even remotely understand the implications of this move but I’ve read elsewhere that where the body was devised by the tories to run the NHS towards privatisation so surely getting rid of it won’t do the same

 

[Hicktonpen10]

It's a major criticism by people that don't understand how organisations work. It's really easy to write headlines about how many nurses we could have if we didn't have these managers but organisations need managers. The NHS is severely under-managed.

3% of the NHS are managers. Compared to the 9.5% which is typical of the UK workforce it is not the problem. Take them away and who does the managing? It is the clinical staff. When they are doing admin and attending meetings and running services they are not seeing patients.

We need better managers. Not less of them.

Are there too many NHS managers?

In times of hardship, the value of NHS managers is often scrutinised - what do they do and are they worth it?

www.nhsconfed.org

We certainly need better managers but I would like to see what they are actually managing before I agree that we need more of them. Having worked in the public service all my working life before retirement I was aghast at the number of middle managers in policy/strategy etc who in my opinion added little to the outcomes of the organisation.

 

[Steer]

Interesting graph that looks at NHS waiting times starting around the same time that the Tory / Lib Dems took charge and made the changes that are now being reversed.

If anyone tells you that politics does not matter, or does not affect them, then they are wrong - unless by some miracle they are never ever ill.





COVID obviously a factor, but the lines were all heading in the wrong direction quickly before that became an issue.

 

[Nano]

I don’t fully or even remotely understand the implications of this move but I’ve read elsewhere that where the body was devised by the tories to run the NHS towards privatisation so surely getting rid of it won’t do the same

The Tories setup NHS England so they could distance themselves from it being mismanaged. They could give it a budget and then leave them to run themselves into the ground (due to underfunding). It didn't work for them because NHS England bit back and became the vice of the NHS and the public still blamed the government.