Judith Smith, Professor of Health Policy and Management, explains some of the challenges the Prime Minister faces with his plan to abolish NHS England.
Professor Judith Smith said:
“The Prime Minister has declared he is ‘bringing the NHS back under democratic control’ and cutting unnecessary bureaucracy with the announcement of abolishing NHS England. The government clearly wants to hold on to setting policy direction for the NHS whilst letting go of the detail of implementation at the local level.
“What will matter as much as what is done, is how the changes are made. The government has Lord Darzi’s clear and comprehensive diagnosis of the NHS’ problems. It now needs to prioritise which actions should be taken first and which can wait.
“The more difficult task will be deciding how to reduce and ultimately abolish NHS England in a way that ensures important roles are smoothly transferred to the Department of Health and Social Care, integrated care boards, and NHS trusts. History is not encouraging. There is a big risk that NHS managers will focus too much attention on handling a major reorganisation when they, and patients, would rather focus on improving services.
“With the public impatient for improvements to NHS services, it is politicians who will ultimately be held to account.”
Professor of Health Policy and Management
Professor Judith Smith is a highly experienced and widely published health services researcher and policy analyst in HSMC at the University of Birmingham.
