NHS Proposals are Conflicts of Issues at Every Level

NHS reforms are tipping the press headline scales again, as more and more proposals and rejections are outlined.

In this morning's i paper, Health Secretary Lansley is referred to as saying that he understood the conflicts of interest with GP Consortia and Doctors from hospital both commissioning and providing.

What he, and the press, seem to have missed is that GP Consortia will always be in a conflict of interest as currently PCTs commission GP surgeries, so it is irrelevant if hospital docs also breach this interest.

The proposals to reform the NHS would go much further if they addressed the glass ceiling and projected seniority between doctors and health professionals. Current proposals continue to put doctors on a pedestal allegedly befitting to their status, but not in a world where there are a range of health workers, from nurses to physios, who are equally trained and capable but on a quarter of the salary.

The proposed 'pause' also fails to address the 30-40% of PCT workers whose expertise and employment has already been lost in mass redundancies, not least of all through clustering.

However, I doubt Jeremy Hunt MP could alter the progression in any way.

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