Chris Whitehouse, a political consultant and expert on medical technology policy and regulation at Whitehouse Communications, an advisor to MedTech suppliers, chair of the Urology Trade Association, and governor of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, reacts to the closure of NHS England.
UK Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, has announced the closure of NHS England, ‘the largest quango in the World’ arguing that ‘this is the final nail in the coffin of the disastrous 2012 reorganisation [of the NHS in England], which led to the longest waiting times, lowest patient satisfaction and most expensive NHS in history’.
The move is born of the frustration of government ministers that whilst they, in the eyes of the voters, are accountable for long waiting times, poor productivity, plummeting staff morale and poor health outcomes, ministers have not been able to exercise sufficient political control to force through change at the pace that will be necessary for voters to see real improvements delivered at sufficient pace.
Wes Streeting’s announcement makes it clear that work must begin immediately to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Government’s Department of Health and Social Care.
A longer-term programme of work will deliver the changes to bring NHS England back into the department, while maintaining a ‘laser-like focus on the government’s priorities to cut waiting times and responsibly manage finances’. It will also realise the ‘untapped potential of the NHS as a single payer system, using its centralised model to procure cutting-edge technology more rapidly, get a better deal for taxpayers on procurement and work more closely with the life sciences sector to develop the treatments of the future’.
The devil will be in the detail of future structures and priorities, but given the challenges facing government in terms of waiting lists, patient outcomes, and out of control spending, there’s every chance that the changes bode well for the MedTech sector, provided it continues to engage with government to promote the role it can play in helping the government deliver on its objectives.
The Author used AI in preparing this article. Comments upon or questions about this article can be addressed to chris.whitehouse@whitehousecomms.com.
