3 march 2010, the nhs rollercoaster tips downward

Wednesday 3rd March 2010

My hospital (that’s trafford healthcare trust, where I sit on the board as a non-executive director) made the guardian today, which reported we had a £6m deficit. At the same time, our paymaster - the pct - was outed as the nation’s 14th most indebted. Lord warner, former health minister, had the best quote, that in the 21st century the nhs received more money than it knew what to do with, “it was like giving a starving man foie gras and caviar”. Clearly that won’t be a problem going forward, and I strongly suspect that radical change is in the air. The commissioners are surely the system’s weak point, and despite all expectations to the contrary I suspect that the commissioner-provider split will once again come under review if the chosen model moves towards a more place-based approach, which another piece of work that seems to have traction - total place – probably suggests it should.