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I sent this to The Times, yesterday:

Alan Milburn (Feb 8; p.25) has a cheek. His flagship reform of the NHS in 2001 ('Shifting the Balance of Power') created far too many small purchasers (PCTs), which were overseen by too many 'Strategic Health Authorities', themselves overseen by four 'Regional Directorates'. It was a punishingly expensive reform, in terms of both start-up and recurrent costs. Milburn genuinely wanted 'devolution' but it was ill-thought-through and poorly-implemented. Paradoxically, 'devolving' too much to too low a level reinforced centralism as the Department of Health and its satraps had to knock heads together and fill the vacuum left by poor capacity at the local level.

Sound familiar? The tragedy is that Mr. Lansley - in correctly diagnosing the trail of chronic-'re-disorganisation' left by so-called 'modernising ' New Labour - has come up with a prescription which is more of the same: cod devolution which will result in more centralism.

(Letter signed:) Calum Paton
Professor of Public Policy (Health Policy)
Keele University


Paul Corrigan was not working for Comrade Alan in 2001, but he was heavily involved in later New Labour 'modernization' which incurred lots of cost and questionable benefit (eg Foundation Trusts and the tariff - respectively, preserving in aspic the shape of 'yesterday's' hospital sector; and deepening the purchaser/provider split, damagingly in terms of both 'integrated care' and the possibility of using 'strategic commissioning' to keep - and get- people out of hospital.)

The HSJ et al are quite right to slam Lansley's reforms and their (lack of) strategy. But make no mistake - they are one step further down the road chosen by 'Miligan', as I used to call Milburn and Corrigan.

The other 'Mili' - Ed Miliband - should remember that uber-Blairites like Milburn and Corrigan oppose the current Health Bill because it is too 'compromised ie not geared enough to market forces. They are useful 'enemies of his enemy'....but dangerous friends (being essentially to the Right of the Coalition), if Ed and Labour want to move away from a 'neo-liberal' NHS.