09 June 2006
Some of the government's main health service reforms have contributed to NHS deficits and should be shelved, according to the head of the UK's 32,000 senior hospital doctors.
British Medical Association consultants' leader Paul Miller told senior doctors at their annual conference in London on June 7 that poorly designed policies and political interference in local decisions had contributed to NHS deficits.
The Private Finance Initiative, independent sector treatment centres and 'needless' management consultants had wasted millions of pounds and failed to improve patient care, he added.
'The deficits are clustered in a few areas and are caused by local service management and strategic planning failure. But most particularly they are caused by bad policies and shocking incompetence inflicted on the whole service from the top, from Whitehall. And a large part of that is an excessive keenness and liking for expensive management consultants,' Miller said. 'Care is suffering, jobs are disappearing, patients and staff are paying the price.'
Miller called for an end to the ISTC initiative, no more management consultants and for further NHS reorganisation to be put on hold. He added that the health service should be run by an independent body.
But Dr Neil Bentley, CBI director of public services, rejected Miller's criticisms. 'The BMA has resisted just about every positive reform in the past decade,' he said, adding that patients were benefiting from the additional capacity brought by the ISTCs.
PFjun2006
