14.04.11
Lansley issues apology to nurses
After 99% of the Royal College for Nursing voted for a motion of no confidence in Health Secretary Andrew Lansley yesterday, he issued a public apology.
The clear message from nurses highlights the difficulty the Government faces in getting support for the controversial reforms.
He admitted that he did not manage to clearly explain the reforms yet maintained that he had the NHS’s best interests as heart. Lansley stated: “I'm sorry if what I'm setting out to do hasn't communicated itself...Listening to the vote this morning, if I've not got that message across then I apologise.”
Lansley further upheld that substantive changes need to take place including giving nurses a place on the GP consortiums to allow their representation.
The reforms are currently on hold as the Government takes a two-month ‘pause’ to dissect the reforms and attempt to deal with the problems that have been thrown up and the concerns of clinicians.
There has also been much argument for a relaxation in the 2013 deadline for assigning commissioning power to GPs, but Lansley has not yet agreed to any flexibility in the deadline.
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