29.10.14
Tough crowd for politicians at the Best Practice Show
NHE attended the Best Practice Show in Birmingham last week on the same day as NHS England released its Five Year Forward View, which created a special buzz at the event.
In the morning shadow health secretary Andy Burnham pulled out of his appearance to take part in a Commons debate on the report but he sent Lord Philip Hunt in his place. Lord Hunt spoke briefly and said even less before taking questions and getting heckled. The audience was not happy when he refused to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ when asked whether he and Burnham would scrap Labour plans for guaranteed access to a GP within 48-hours if Simon Stevens and leading doctors showed him evidence it wouldn't be best for the workforce or patient care.
In the afternoon it was Jeremy Hunt’s turn to run the gauntlet. He welcomed the NHS England report and spoke about the government’s plans for the future. There wasn’t much everyone hadn’t heard before but the health secretary did share one new little nugget of information.
As NHE reported, Hunt said he would like to see changes to the way public health is commissioned, with CCGs taking a co-commissioning role alongside local authorities.
Now it was only two years ago that the coalition largely took public health commissioning out of the hands of local NHS organisation, but now is he reversing course? Does he want the NHS more involved again? For a government that is “proud of its record” on the NHS, the coalition don’t seem to be too fond of their 2012 reorganisation of it.
After his speech was over he took questions, and the crowd was tougher on him than Lord Hunt earlier. Emma, a GP from Surrey, asked: “It’s lovely to hear you speaking so passionately about keeping the NHS a national service free at the point of access, but I find myself feeling increasingly frustrated as I listen to you as I just don’t believe you. We have in you a health secretary who authored a publication about privatising the NHS; so tell me why should I trust you?”
To which he responded: “I think you need to look at this government’s record on the NHS.”
Yes, Mr Hunt, she did, that’s why she doesn’t trust you.
For more coverage of the Best Practice Conference see the next issue of NHE Nov/Dec.
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