12.10.10
NHS Confederation publishes response to white paper
The NHS Confederation has published its response to the government white paper on NHS reform.
The document points out that whilst NHS workers are willing to engage with the government over health reforms, those reforms need to be dealt with carefully in order not to risk damaging patient care.
Nigel Edwards, acting chief executive of the Confederation, said: “Empowering patients is clearly the right thing to do. And there are strong arguments for involving clinicians more closely in decisions about the design of care and the management of resources. But these reforms mean radical change, requiring a major shift in culture and the way the NHS does business, as well as a shake up of institutions.
“It is imperative that the government does everything possible to address what is a significant list of uncertainties about how the new system will work. The fact of the matter is that the government is planning to build a very big new machine - at great pace - but no one can be quite sure what will happen when it is switched on.”
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