Primary care and the NHS white papers

BMJ 1998;316:1687-1688 ( 6 June )

Editorials

Primary care and the NHS white papers

The right principles but bedevilled by the detail

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Before last year's election the Labour Party made much of its intention to move away from the fragmentation allegedly causedby the previous government's NHS reforms and to return to a trulynational health service. However, as the new government's proposalshave been revealed, it is all too apparent that its commitmentto devolution exceeds its commitment to the recreation of a nationalservice. The differences in the organisation and nature of theservice between the four parts of the United Kingdom are to be increased, and in particular health care in Scotland will diverge,with complete exclusion of general practitioners from the processof commissioning care.

Over the past six months a succession of white and green papers have spelt out the proposals for NHS reform^1-4 and strategicimprovements in public health.^5-7 These have emphasised a servicethat is fairer, distributes resources more equitably, eliminatestwo tierism, is needs . . . [Full text of this article]