Daily Insight: Recovery vs reform

Our editor Alastair McLellan kicked off 2023 with a warning that the uphill struggle to recover performance in the NHS will be made even more onerous by endless calls for “reform”.

The debate will not be well informed and a wide range of important issues will largely be ignored, he wrote in his editorial. Despite this, there will be inexorable pressure for “something to be done”, which will equate to nothing more meaningful than a parade of proposals ranging from the blindingly obvious to the long discredited.

Critics on the right of the political spectrum will argue that the introduction of charges, co-payments, and tax breaks for private care. “The fact this approach has failed to save the care sector from disaster, and would not create a single extra nurse or doctor, will be deemed irrelevant,” said Alastair.

The continued “war” against inefficiency and bureaucracy led by an eager health and social care secretary Steve Barclay will get more attention and backing, as the need to throw red meat to the “reformists” increases. Expect also to see the return of initiatives to inject more “private sector management expertise” into the NHS.

Read his full editorial here.

Doing the honours

Several NHS England directors, chief executives and clinicians have been included in 2023’s New Year’s Honours list, which was generally dominated by women working in the NHS, health and medical fields.

CBEs were awarded to Ann Radmore, who retired as NHSE’s regional director for the East of England last spring, and Lesley Watts, chief executive of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Foundation Trust and one of HSJ’s top 50 CEOs last year. Also, Deborah Sturdy, chief nurse for adult social care at the Department of Health and Social Care was given a CBE. 

Mayur Lakhani, former chair of West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group, the National Council for Palliative Care, and the Royal College of GPs, was knighted for services to general practice – one of the highest honours given to an NHS worker.

MBEs were awarded to Minal Bakhai, director of primary care transformation at NHSE, for services to general practice during the pandemic and also to Caroline Reid, regional director of commissioning at NHSE for services to the covid-19 vaccination programme in the South East of England.

OBEs were awarded to Jennifer Hall, director of nursing and clinical delivery for the covid-19 vaccination programme at NHSE and also to Karen Howell, chief executive of Wirral Community Health and Care Foundation Trust.