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Daily View: 'Pause' for NHS reforms

Clare Spencer | 10:08 UK time, Thursday, 14 April 2011

Commentators discuss changes in the NHS. This comes after the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has apologised after the Royal College of Nursing conference delivered a vote of no confidence in his handling of National Health Service reforms.

that the NHS is crying out for a period of sanity and realistic spending:

"In truth it is too early to know the full impact of the "cuts". This financial year is only 13 days old. But we can already see that some decisions of the NHS are actually a sensible and long overdue restraint on the over-spending of recent years.
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"This can be seen most clearly in the list of drugs that some NHS bodies have withdrawn from prescription. Taking one example from the Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust, it is immediately obvious that most of these drugs have very marginal benefits and should not have been on the list on the first place. The Cambridgeshire PCT describes several of the drugs as follows: 'no evidence of advantage', 'safety concerns', 'poor benefit / risk profile' and being 'particularly expensive'."

The Andrew Lansley's speech "sick and cowardly":

"Health Secretary Andrew Lansley's botched reforms have been put on hold while he conducts a 'listening exercise'.
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"But the delay has only added to the uncertainty for the thousands who work in the NHS. They deserve to be told where they stand and what the changes will mean for their jobs, working conditions and future."

that the Conservative claim that GPs support their NHS plans, but argues doctors oppose them as strongly as nurses do:

"[I]n addition to his welcome assertion today that substantial changes would be made to the health bill, Lansley demonstrated why healthcare professionals are so frustrated and antagonised. He sabotaged his diplomacy by parroting the usual guff about clinical support for his plans.
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"The only thing to say in defence of his statement that '90% of GPs' surgeries across the country have stepped forward and said we want to be pathfinders' is that at least he didn't claim - as he and colleagues have done - that 90% of GPs support the plans. This is patently untrue, since according to a survey for the Royal College of GPs barely 30% agree that the expanded model of GP commissioning can improve healthcare outcomes, and a mere 20% of GPs think the plans as a whole will result in better care."

The political blogger the nurse Jane Pilgrim who branded Andrew Lansley a liar:

"But the problem for Jane is that some people have a better memory of event in late summer 2009. Sources at the hospital have confirmed that Jane 'boycotted' the meeting for political reasons, refusing to meet the then Shadow Health Secretary. Those that did attend say far from Lansley saying there would not be cuts, he infact stated that 'he could make no promises and it would be up to local management'. Other people in the meeting have confirmed this version of events."
a clip put on YouTube of from April 2009 of David Cameron getting rapturous applause from the Royal College of Nursing conference:
"His talk then of 'pointless reorganisations' of the NHS that 'then bring chaos' certainly got a great response delegates two years ago but then, like when Clegg made his pledge on student fees, they were in opposition. The world is so much different now they are in government but that doesn't stop the dreaded curse of YouTube.
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"Whatever the arguments in favour of the Lansley plan it's been presented appallingly and it's going to be very difficult getting off the hook. This clip will just make it more challenging."

the difference in leadership styles on the issue of NHS reforms:

"Miliband's performance this morning was striking for him speaking at a level of policy detail that party leaders normally eschew. He was happy discussing the intricacies of specific clauses of the bill. At one point, he remarked that 'for the nerds among us the really interesting thing is', before going on to discuss a point about competition laws. It'll be interesting to see how this approach plays with the public. It certainly contrasts with David Cameron's chairman of the board persona."

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