News

Sir Bruce Keogh’s potholes comment was ‘unworthy of his role’

Sir John Oldham has spoken of his “disappointment” at NHS England medical director Sir Bruce Keogh’s comments that councils’ involvement in Better Care Fund bids could mean “potholes” are prioritised over patient care.

Sir John, chair of Integrating Care, created and headed the National Primary Care Development Team, and was national clinical lead for quality and productivity at the Department of Health until the end of 2012. He chaired an Integrating Care roundtable meeting yesterday, which was supported by the NHS Confederation and Local Government Association and attended by senior figures from both sectors.

NHE was at the event, at which Sir John said: “I have to say I was really quite disappointed to hear Bruce Keogh’s comment last week that councils were more concerned with potholes than people. I think that was unworthy of his role, but not necessarily surprising given that the medical director of NHS England has 18 national clinical directors for body parts, and the thought leadership comes from 27 of the 28 royal colleges. But I think that...attitude is one that will need to change, as we move towards trying to get the relationships better between health and social care.”

Speaking to the Health Select Committee last week about the pooled budgets and the Better Care Fund, Sir Bruce said that there was a need to be “absolutely clear” about how it would be spent, and said: “There is a fear that the labels be taken off the money and that it will be used for filling in potholes and other significant things.”

Discussing integrated care more generally, Sir John said: “When I left the Department [of Health], we had about 11% [of CCGs] actively, with community providers and others, creating integrated teams between health and social care. The year of care capitation tariff, we had eight pilots but 26 so-called fast followers buddied up, which is practically 20% of the system, of health economies. Sadly I think that momentum has somewhat been lost by NHS England. But I get the sense that it’s a question of when and how, not if.”

The roundtable focused heavily on the Better Care Fund, and the extent to which it could be transformative or whether it is just a short-term political fix to cover the fact there is less money in the system.

Full coverage of the roundtable event will be in the March/April 2014 edition of NHE. Subscribe at: www.nationalhealthexecutive.com/Subscribe

Other attendees included:

Michael O'Higgins – Chair, NHS Confederation

Geoff Alltimes CBE – LGA, and chair of the Health Transformation Task Group (HTTG) and of the London Integration Collaborative

Professor Paul Corrigan – Healthcare commentator

Simon Morioka and Claire Kennedy – Integrating Care / PPL

Matt Tee – Chief Operating Officer, NHS Confederation

Will Tuckley – Chief Executive, London Borough of Bexley

John Sinnott – Chief Executive, Leicestershire County Council

Martin Smith – Chief Executive, London Borough of Ealing

Margaret Carney – Chief Executive, Sefton Council

Matthew Winn – Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust

Martyn Diaper – Clinical Director, South East Hampshire, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust

Chris Ash – Integrated Services Director Southampton & West Hants, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust

John Marshall – Associate Director, Strategy & Collaboration, NHS Wigan Borough Clinical Commissioning Group

John Wilderspin – Managing Director, NHS Central Southern CSU

Tell us what you think – have your say below, or email [email protected]