Politicians 'neglecting NHS'

Knives out from the Lancet

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Friday, 11, Jan 2008 08:12

Gordon Brown's proposed reforms of the NHS have received heavy criticism from an editorial in the Lancet.

The medical journal says plans to create an NHS constitution are "likely to be merely rhetoric" and dismisses the prime minister's separation of prevention from treatment as a "false dichotomy".

Mr Brown outlined plans to create a "more personal and preventative service" in a speech to healthcare professionals on Monday.

But today's Lancet editorial criticises plans to reinforce the divide between GPs and specialists as "hopelessly anachronistic".

At the heart of the problem is "the Department of Health's preference for centralised ideology over professionally led, devolved, and evaluated innovation", it says.

"The NHS deserves a happy [60th] birthday on July 5th. But despite lavishing it with praise and presents, its political parents have been neglectful."