NHS Reforms – where are the supporters?

Andrew Lansley, UK Secretary of State for Health wrote in the Guardian newspaper this week ‘with every new day, more of the people who matter are embracing the opportunities presented by our plans’

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/joepublic/2011/feb/08/growing-numbers-backing-nhs-reforms-lansley

I have referred to Lansley in the past using the affectionate term, Pollyanna, with his naïve beliefs that his health initiatives are on track, but even Pollyanna usually had some basis for her optimism.

Where are these ‘people who matter’? ‘No decision about me without me’ is the boast of the Health and Social Care bill. Who is ‘me’ in this case?

There are 1.3 million ‘me’s’ working in the NHS and apart from a smattering of business minded GPs I am yet to find any who support the sweeping reforms, especially due to the unseemly hast of execution (I choose the term advisedly).

Lansley also says  ‘beyond institutional accountability, genuine patient choice will bring a dramatic level of direct accountability to NHS providers’

I have spent the past few months documenting my concerns regarding the NHS reforms but am I being blinkered? Maybe I should give Mr Lansley the benefit of the doubt…

But before I do – I have two deal-breaking requests.

Please Mr Lansley can you:

a)     Tell me who these people are who support your reforms and the speed of delivery? Name names. List organisations. Let them stand up and be counted.

b)     What exactly do you mean by ‘no decision about me without me’?

p.s. Apologies to my regular readers – I promised to be more positive.  So I shall end on a cheerful note. On Saturday I was at Old Trafford to watch Manchester United beat our local rivals, Manchester City. Fantastic Rooney Goal!