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NHS Deficits

I am merely saying that the Government’s incompetence when it comes to executing ““Agenda for Change”” is awe-inspiring. A Conservative Government would not have gone about it in such a cack-handed and incompetent manner. We have seen no evidence of increased productivity over the last 10 years. The Government have preferred to focus on endless reorganisations, which have had little or no impact on patient care. Forty central NHS agencies have been created since 1997; and 400 or more performance targets mean a constant between balancing the books and meeting centralised targets. As we know, targets can be manipulated. In 2004, the Audit Commission cited evidence that in some trusts patients were removed from waiting lists once they had been provided with a future date for an appointment. They were given immediate appointments that they were not able to attend and then classed as refusing treatment or having treatment inappropriately suspended. Anyone who genuinely believes in real reform of the NHS would welcome the Government’s moves in that direction over the next few years. Conservative Members agree with patient choice and plurality of providers. We believe that independent sector treatment centres are a good development as are payment by results and practice-based commissioning, but where is the commitment to support the development of care networks and integrated services and why the palpable failure to develop community hospitals, which was a manifesto commitment in May 2005?