Dorrell elected health committee chair

Mr Dorrell served in John Major’s cabinet as health secretary from 1995-1997. He beat former nurse and BUPA director Nadine Dorries in the contest and practising dentist Sir Paul Beresford.

Following the announcement of his election Mr Dorrell told HSJ that in addition to providing scrutiny and advice to the government on health policy he was “also concerned with long term care of the elderly and dealing with the three terms unfinished business on social care”.

When asked about health secretary Andrew Lansley’s plans to effectively abolish strategic health authorities and strip primary care trusts of the majority of their commissioning responsibilities, he said he was “interested to see how the plans will develop”.

He added he cared a great deal about “strengthening local primary care commissioning” and was “in favour of ensuring commissioning has firm local roots”.

In a statement Mr Dorrell said the debate on the future of public services was becoming “increasingly challenging” and there was a “requirement to reconcile public aspirations with available resources”.

He hoped the committee would produce authoritative reports on the impact of government decisions on patients and staff, while fostering cross party support for long term decisions.

Ahead of the chairmanship election, Mr Dorrell told HSJ: “I’m sure [health secretary] Andrew Lansley has a very clear view of where he’s wanting to go but sometimes it’s seeing through the fog of battle that’s part of the value of a committee.”

He agreed with Mr Lansley that it was important to have a more “adult relationship” with health professionals and said management costs would be greatly reduced if clinicians were more involved in improving care. He named his priorities as public health, commissioning and the long term care of the elderly.

In addition to longer term investigations, he hopes the committee will examine government decisions as they were announced. He also wants to scrutinise the pledge to increase NHS growth in real terms to ensure it was carried out.

In October, Mr Dorrell told HSJ there needed to be “a little sunlight” brought into Conservative health policy in the six months before the general election.

He said: “Between now and next June we must seize the opportunity to make the case for reform of the heath service to make it better achieve its objectives.”