Menu Close

Politics, NHS reforms and just who is Prof. Steve Field

In politics terms Prof. Field is obviously a loose cannon because constructive as some of his suggestion are what will be remembered from his interview with the Guardian is the headline ‘Andrew Lansley’s NHS reforms are unworkable, says review chief’

Well whether you call it politics or not David Cameron seems to have shot himself in the foot with his appointment of Prof. Steve Field to review the NHS reforms. Prof. Field is obviously a loose cannon because constructive as some of his suggestion are what will be remembered from his interview with the Guardian is the headline ‘Andrew Lansley’s NHS reforms are unworkable, says review chief’

with friends like this you don’t need enemies!

Prof. Steve Field is the chairman of ‘ NHS Future Forum’ set up by David Cameron last month to undertake the coalition’s listening exercise and there is nothing wrong with a pause to reflect and listen, the NHS is the biggest employer in Europe and is immensely complex with many entrenched positions. I would expect several pauses for reflection to see what has worked and what isn’t working so well, this is good, something you would never have from the last Labour government or a Lib Dem only government and should be part of any project review, it is not though a sign of weakness but a sign of strength, real politics in action and comfort within a democracy.

‘Andrew Lansley’s NHS reforms are unworkable, says review chief’

But surely Prof. Field should have been reporting back to his politics master David Cameron, not to the Guardian, the interview was in fact very balanced and supported Andrew Lansley’s plan to introduce more competition whilst having reservations about GP’s being the primary fund holders and the controls suggested, Prof. Field also said that certain key services must be protected but it is still a lesson in controlling the output of information. I still think the interview was a mistake and any contact with the press should have been after the full report was presented to government and Cameron was able to access the information in politics terms because the thing that will be remembered is the title of the interview ‘Andrew Lansley’s NHS reforms are unworkable, says review chief’ which is not truly representative of the content as a whole.

Lets just wait until the full report is available, then make a judgement but remember this pause for reflection and consultation should be applauded and is a sign of maturity not weakness.

Go to http://t.co/l5Drl4P for full interview.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

2 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
2
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x