Follow the latest on coalition’s health reforms – LIVE

Welcome to the first day of our daily live blog covering the most explosive domestic policy issue of the moment: the government’s controversial NHS changes 11.12am: At 1pm today some of the biggest names in the NHS reforms will be here to answer your questions in a live Q&A. On the panel will be: Nigel Edwards , the acting chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents 95% of the NHS’s employers in England, such as hospital trusts and primary care trusts. He supports the health bill’s stated objectives, such as more power for clinicians and better outcomes for patients, but he has criticised such a radical reorganisation being pushed through at the same time as the NHS has to cut 45% of its management costs and save £20bn by 2015. Last year he said that 2011 was likely to be the “toughest year” in the NHS’ history. Dr Steve Hajioff , a public health consultant and chairman of the British Medical Association’s representative body. He has worked for a variety of international organisations including the WHO, Unicef, the OECD, the European Observatory on Health Care Systems, the European Insurance Forum and the World Bank. In addition to his public health work, Steve maintains a clinical practice as a general practitioner. Professor Kieran Walshe , professor of health policy and management at Manchester Business School. With 20 years’ experience in health policy, management and research, he is also director of the National Institute of Health Research service delivery and organisation (SDO) research programme, which exists to serve the research needs of managers and leaders in the NHS. The Q&A will last for one hour and there’s a lot to get through. Here are just some of the questions that might be worth asking: • What does the government want to get out of the pause in health reforms? • How are the changes beginning to play out in hospitals and surgeries around the country right now? • How can we get innovation in the NHS without taking it apart? • Are GPs ready to commission budgets? • Are patients really in a position to choose the best possible care? • Can hospitals be stripped of core functions and still remain viable? • What role can the private sector have in health – and are doctors sufficiently insulated from charges that they put profits ahead of patients in the reforms? • Do we really have too many hospital beds? • Are hospitals cutting operations to save money or is it medically sound to do so? 11.10am: Trying to recall exactly how this whole row unfolded? We have published a great timeline charting the progress of the NHS reforms from their publication as a white paper to last week’s vote of no confidence in Andrew Lansley’s plans by the Royal College of Nursing. 11.10am: Hi, I am Randeep Ramesh, the Guardian’s social affairs editor, and I am running the blog along with my colleague Rowenna Davis. We want this to be the central point of debate and news for the future of the NHS, which is arguably the biggest and most controversial item on the coalition’s agenda. Specialist health correspondents at the Guardian – Patrick Butler, Denis Campbell and Sarah Boseley – will also be contributing to the blog and answering your questions. Right from the start we’d like to invite you – whether you’re a doctor, a PCT worker, a nurse, a patient or a carer – to contribute to the debate. This project cannot work without you. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the comments and we welcome any suggestions. 10.30am: The government’s controversial plans to overhaul the NHS funding system have become the most explosive domestic policy since the election. The health secretary, Andrew Lansley, says his revolutionary blueprint for change will drive up efficiency and quality of care. But Lansley’s provocative vision has generated almost unprecendented opposition: not just from doctors, nurses, unions, policy experts and opposition politicians, but also from conservative commentators and some senior members of the coalition itself. After intense political pressure, the government last week announced a dramatic two month “pause” in the progress of the NHS bill to allow what David Cameron called a period of listening and reflection. Today we are launching a daily live blog, which which we hope will become a focal point for this debate. The proposed reforms are a momentous test of the coalition’s political will: Lansley says his proposals will expand patient choice and promote competition between hospitals, handing the responsibility for purchasing £80bn worth of care to GPs. They will, he says, transform what he sees as a rigid, centralised and inefficient bureaucracy into modern, flexible health services that count “among the best in the world”. But those who oppose the plans, which are being pushed through at a time when the NHS is seeking to make £20bn of spending cuts, are unworkable, unpopular, unfair and a recipe for disaster. There are concerns the proposals will open the way to NHS privatisation and profiteering, drive up health inequalities, and break up one of the UK’s best loved and most respected public institutions. Confusion abounds about what the proposals mean, and Lansley has been criticised for failing to properly explain and communicate his vision. The political strains the reforms are placing on the coalition could be far-reaching. During the government’s “pause” for reflection, this blog will provide a unique focus on the reforms. We will examine in detail what the NHS bill means, how it would work, how it would affect patients and what the consequences might be. We will report on new developments, break fresh stories, and host incisive debate and discussion – starting today with a Q&A featuring a panel of health experts (more on that in a moment). From policy to politics, from hospital care to mental health, from family doctor services to health promotion, from Whitehall and Westminster to the local NHS, we will be drawing on the expertise of contributors and commentators from inside and outside the Guardian to help us. And we want you, our readers, to be a part of it: to collaborate with us, and help us tell this fascinating and critical story. Please join us. Health Andrew Lansley NHS Public services policy Public sector cuts Randeep Ramesh Rowenna Davis guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 18, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.