BMJ 2006;333 (29 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7561.0-f
Editor's choice
The clear vision of outsiders
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
It takes outsiders to see things with the most clarity. Thus, in our Health Policy debate this week—on whether the NHS should be more independent of government and politicians—it is two Americans, Don Berwick and Sheila Leatherman, who articulate most clearly what the NHS should be about and how it seems to have lost its way (p 254). "The NHS is not just a national treasure; it is a global treasure." It needs "the time, space, and constancy of purpose to realise its enormous promise."
Berwick and Leatherman, together with Stephen Thornton, Gwyn Bevan, and Stephen Gillam (pp 251-5), are responding to Fiona Godlee's call in her editor's choice earlier this year for an independent NHS authority, protected from the capricious effects of party politics. Interestingly, while all the commentators worry about constant reorganisation and inconsistent changes in direction, none want to see politicians removed too
Jane Smith, deputy editor
(jsmith@bmj.com)
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