06.07.11
NHS heart director steps down with attack on reforms
The nation’s heart ‘tsar’, Sir Roger Boyle, who has served under six health secretaries, is standing down, blaming his decision partly on the NHS reforms.
Sir Roger was the national director for heart disease, but said ministers were determined to press ahead with damaging changes to the NHS for their own sake, and said that despite the changes that have been made in the wake of the Future Forum report, the essence of the reforms remains the same.
He said: “This Government has been so busy condemning what’s happened before that...they haven't been prepared to look at things that have worked well.”
He told the HSJ: “To say that we’re over-managed is complete baloney. To abolish all management and hand it over to a microcosm of smaller commissioners...we’ve done smaller commissioning in the past and tried bigger commissioning and settled for something in between and that seems to be the best compromise.
“I'm very worried about where we're going to over the next few years because corporate memory will be lost. I've nothing against clinical engagement but we could have done it without abolishing large chunks of the NHS.”
Sir Roger was knighted in June in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Tell us what you think – have your say below, or email us directly at [email protected]