General ordered to shake up the NHS
BORIS Johnson has recruited a former Armed Forces chief to lead a sweeping overhaul of the management of the NHS and social care system.
General Sir Gordon Messenger, a retired Royal Marines officer who has served as a vice-chief of the defence staff, will head the most far-reaching review of the health service for 40 years.
The Iraq and Afghanistan veteran is under orders to ensure taxpayers get value for money out of the billions extra promised to the system by the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
His appointment was announced last night as it emerged senior Tories will make the NHS and social care system a key theme at their annual party conference.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “I am determined to make sure the NHS and social care deliver for years to come and leadership is so important to that mission. We are committed to providing the resources health and social care needs but that must come with change for the better. “It will help make sure individuals and families get the care and treatment they need, wherever they are in the country, as we build back better.” Tory sources expect the review to lead to the most in-depth shake up of NHS management since the Griffiths Report under Margaret Thatcher’s Government. That introduced general managers with overall responsibility for performance and budgets. People from the private sector were also introduced on to the NHS management board. Now Sir Gordon’s review aims to increase the efficiency of the NHS and social care system in England and improve results for patients and others in care. It’s key objectives are to:
● Build on the best examples of outstanding leadership to reduce regional variation in efficiency and health outcomes
● Develop the leadership skills needed across both the health and social care systems for the next 10 years
● Bring in fresh ideas and talented leadership to make sure that every pound of taxpayers’ money is well spent. Sir Gordon is expected to deliver a report from his review to the Health Secretary early next year.
He joined the Royal Marines in 1983 and rose through the ranks to command 40 Commando from 2001 to 2003, including operational deployments to Afghanistan and in the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
Sir Gordon will have a team from the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS to support him led by Dame Linda
Pollard, the chairwoman of Leeds Teaching Hospital. The review follows concerns among some ministers and Tory backbenchers that the £12billion a year raised by the Chancellor’s new Health and Social Care Levy could be squandered on bureaucracy and management salaries and bonuses.
Mr Sunak’s tax hike has angered some party members, with ministers braced for criticism on the fringes of their conference in Manchester starting tomorrow.
But senior Tories insist the Prime Minister is determined that every pound of investment in NHS and social care is well spent.
They argue the review will also help Mr Johnson’s levelling up plans by reducing regional disparities in health outcomes that lead to much higher rates of mortality and serious long-term illness in neglected regions of the UK.
Mr Johnson will highlight how Labour voted against the new tax and extra investment in the NHS in the Commons last month.
Ministers claim the move will show Sir Keir Starmer’s party can no longer claim to be the party of the NHS. The Government’s extra investment, expected to reach around £36billion by the next general election, aims to tackle the huge backlog of operations and treatment left by the pandemic. Tory insiders say the recommendations from Sir Gordon’s report will be considered by Mr Johnson and Mr Javid.
It will include a timetable for the implementation of reforms. Any findings will only apply to England, although the Scottish government and other devolved administrations will be free to consider the findings. Sir Gordon’s review team will be funded from within existing DHSC budgets. They will work closely with NHS chief executives and other health and care leaders, and consult clinical staff. As well as health, party chiefs plan to make crime, the economy and the environment the key themes of the four-day gathering, which ends on Wednesday.
Home Secretary Priti Patel will seek to reassure the nation that the police can get a grip on a surge in violent crime and anti-social behaviour that has followed the reopening from lockdown.
Mr Sunak will lead a day of discussion about employment and the economy, setting out the next steps for protecting jobs and promoting growth after his furlough scheme ended this week.
Mr Johnson and his ministers will also highlight the Government plans for “greening” the economy and society ahead of the Cop26 international summit on climate change being held in Glasgow next month.
Thousands of Tory grassroots members are expected to attend the coming week’s hybrid conference, with others able to join remotely by computer link.
It will be the first time the Conservatives have been able to rally in great numbers since before the December 2019 election.