BMA: Success depends on staff

Proposed reforms to the NHS will only succeed if staff are engaged with their implementation, the British Medical Association (BMA) has warned.

While the doctors' group said many of the Next Stage Review proposals are positive, the question is whether they can be delivered.

"[Improvement] will depend on the details, and on the true engagement of NHS staff in implementing change," commented Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the BMA council.

"If they are sidelined, these are little more than fine words and we won't see the improvements the NHS desperately needs."

He added that the BMA welcomes plans for an NHS constitution, saying that the public "deserves a clearer idea of what it can expect from the health service".

"The constitution should also empower staff, working with patients, to run the health service locally without the day to day interference of politicians," Dr Meldrum said.

The BMA, according to Dr Meldrum, is looking forward to working with the government as part of the consultation process on the reforms.