Here is the plain text result:
Amanda Pritchard, head of NHS England, would have regular Monday meetings with Health Secretary Wes Streeting to review performance and address challenges. But last Monday was different. After discussing the state of the health service, she announced she was stepping down – with just one month’s notice. It came as a shock to many in the organisation, under which there are 1.4 million staff who deal with 1.7 million patients every day. But those in the know had suspected something was happening – though not the timing.
It became increasingly clear that the way NHS England is run would change once Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the Labour government took over. A well-placed health source said, “remembered the old days”, before the NHS’s shift to autonomy, which they felt made the system “too bureaucratic”.
The first clue that things would be going back to a more traditional management regime, with more direct government control, came when two health experts were appointed from previous Labour governments: Alan Milburn, Blair’s health secretary, and Paul Corrigan, an adviser. It became clear that they would be involved in shaping policy with Wes Streeting.
One health source said, “we’re not all brilliant performers at committee hearings” but it was right to be scrutinised. Privately, according to sources, she found the process “frustrating given how much time she had given to the role” under some of the most difficult years in the history of the NHS.
She will be replaced by Sir Jim Mackey, an experienced NHS trust boss, who is being titled the “transition” chief executive. Policy will be run by Wes Streeting’s department with Sir Jim, we are told, focusing on delivery including cutting the hospital waiting list of nearly 7.5 million.
On one hand, Amanda Pritchard has provided consistent leadership in various roles under six different health secretaries. The autonomy of NHS England enabled its chief executive to bang the drum for the health service and pressure the government. But on the other hand, serious problems remain with patient outcomes and those closer to Streeting argue more direct government control means less bureaucracy, and the ability to free up resources to deploy where needed.
Source link
