NHS review put ‘woke’ ideas before patients

IT was meant to be the biggest shake-up of NHS management in 40 years, targeting red tape and fat-cat bosses.

But a landmark review ordered by Sajid Javid – and led by a former vice chief of the defence staff – put ‘ wokery’ before patients, it has been suggested.

Claims Sir Gordon Messenger’s report appeared more concerned with ‘ equality, diversity and inclusion’ (EDI) have sparked criticism of the Health Secretary, who has accepted its recommendations in full. Lord Lilley, who was trade secretary under Margaret Thatcher, said it showed the Government bowing to the ‘prevailing woke ideology’.

It appeared ‘totally obsessed with EDI’, he wrote in the Sunday Telegraph, with the phrase used more often than ‘patients’.

Sir Gordon told the paper that ‘strong EDI expertise’ proved ‘consistently valuable’. A Department of Health source insisted the review would form ‘ only a small part of our reform agenda’.