The Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley MP will later this month publish the Government’s official response to all the responses they have received to the NHS white paper, published in the summer. We expect he’ll say that they have changed their mind on maternity services falling under the auspices of the NHS commissioning board, instead placing them under GP-led consortia.
We oppose this, and have been lobbying furiously to get the health secretary to change his mind. Most recently, the General Secretary met with the chair of the powerful House of Commons health select committee, Stephen Dorrell MP, and followed that up with a letter to his team. She has also written to the Prime Minister, following the news that he wants Lansley’s health reforms looked at by a fresh pair of eyes. The PM has given that job to Cabinet Office minister Oliver Letwin MP, whose job it is to give policy advice to the Prime Minister.
We’ll let you know the outcome of all these efforts as soon as we hear. Watch this space.
