Health Policy Debate
14 June 2006
A summer of debate on the direction of health policy begins with the government pressing the case for radical reform
The NHS Confederation annual conference begins today. As chief executive, Gill Morgan noted in the Times this conference season is an opportunity to look back over the last year. Things have moved quickly: ‘It seems extraordinary that, just a year ago, we hadn’t heard of commissioning a patient-led NHS’ [go to note 1]. The conference will host a debate on these ‘turbulent times’ for the NHS where the government is likely to face criticism. Angela Coulter has described patient and public involvement as a “sham” and Barbara Hakin, the new head of East Midlands SHA, says the government hasn’t done enough to explain the reasoning behind service redesign [go to note 2].
In the midst of a whole range of questions about where reform is headed, the government has begun to press harder its case for radical reform. Addressing a conference on public sector reform, Tony Blair challenged professionals to change. Speaking the same day, David Cameron talked up the public sector and the importance of professional engagement in change. This is an important issue for many professionals, as Michael White noted in the Guardian: part of the government’s difficulties result from the constant reforms that ‘have demoralised staff’ [go to note 3].
As a leader in the Independent put it, ‘you know we are living in interesting times when a Labour Prime Minister comes to bury the public service ethos and a Conservative leader to praise it’ [go to note 4]. Despite the difference in tone, there is little substantive difference. According to the Economist there is little alternative. ‘Mr Cameron, for all his honeyed words, is not fool enough to try anything very different’ [go to note 5]. Bagehot offered a political explanation for the difference in emphasis between the two - the new north-south divide in the two party’s electoral fortunes. Blair needs to convince the southern middle-class that the reforms are working and Cameron needs to persuade northern voters that his party is supportive of the public sector [go to note 6].