Senior doctor leading a review into NHS Reforms: "essential services could be destroyed"

News.Sky.Com

The senior doctor leading a review into the Government's health service reforms has warned they could "destroy essential services".

Plans to reform the NHS have divided opinion

Professor Steve Field is the chairman of the NHS Future Forum - the group set up to examine the changes.
He said that proposals by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley to increase competition within the health service would be "destabilising".

"If you had a free market, that would destroy essential services in very big hospitals but also might destroy the services that need to be provided in small hospitals," he said.

"The risk in going forward (with the Bill) as it is, is (of) destabilising the NHS at a local level. It would lead to some hospitals not being able to continue as they are."

Cameron Health Advisor: NHS To Be Shown "No Mercy" In Privitisation

Political Scrapbook


One of David Cameron’s most senior health advisers told a conference of health executives that the NHS will be privatised, advising representatives from healthcare companies of an impending goldrush in the wake of Andrew Lansley’s health reforms.

Mark Britnell was NHS director general for commissioning and system management before joining the private sector as global head of health at KPMG. He was recently appointed to a new panel of senior health policy experts by David Cameron, attending their first meeting last week.

According to the public relations industry monitoring site Spinwatch Britnell did not mince his words on privatisation when addressing a seminar called “Reform Revolution” at a conference for healthcare corporations:

“In future, the NHS will be a state insurance provider not a state deliverer.”