The head of British doctors has described Andrew Lansley’s NHS proposals as “rushed-through” and “ill-thought-out” in an interview for the Guardian’s NHS blog.

He not only criticises the role of the Coalition government but also raises questions about Lansley’s ability to stay on.

In the interview Hamish Meldrum, chair of the British Medical Association, says this about the Coalition:

I believe the coalition is taking a high-risk strategy with the reforms. The changes to PCTs and other elements of the reforms were in the Conservative manifesto, but the scale of the reforms “that can be seen from space” as they’ve been described, have the appearance of being rushed through as a last-minute job.

Instead of being the best of both worlds, the fusion of two party manifestos brought the worst of two worlds.

The Tories wanted an independent board for the NHS and the Lib Dems wanted more local care. Now we have got both together with very little accountability and very little idea of how they relate to each other.

We are looking at rushed-through and ill-thought-out reform.

He also says it would be difficult for Lansley to stay on if the Tories make significant changes to the proposals. [H]is credibility would be badly damaged if the bill was significantly watered down,” he added.

Full story at the Guardian NHS blog.

Reader comments

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11. IpswichCAB

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31. A hammering for the Liberal Democrats, victory for the SNP in Scotland, likely defeat for the Yes to AV campaign and is Lansley on the way out? – round up of political blogs for 30 April – 6 May | British Politics and Policy at LSE

    [...] Dominic Browne at Left Foot Forward reckons that after votes of no confidence from the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Royal College of Nursing, Andrew Lansley’s job may be at risk. Sunny Hundal at Liberal Conspiracy has the head of the BMA as stating that the government’s plans for the NHS are ‘rubbish’. [...]

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