Published 27 August 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3468
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3468

Editor's Choice

A hesitation to be brave

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

No one doubts that there’s going to be less money for health in the next few years. But is this a disaster or, as John Appleby believes (doi:10.1136/bmj.b2736), a potential opportunity? Taking his cue from White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, Appleby says we can’t let this economic crisis go to waste. It would be too easy to slash budgets, grow waiting lists, cut training, and reduce spending on prevention just to store up problems for the future. Instead we should "get radical with improving quality," he says. "Doing the right thing for patients the first time can not only improve the quality of their care but save money too."

This idea that quality is cheaper in the long run is the latest wisdom in Whitehall, but acting on it isn’t going to be easy. Appleby fears that we (doctors, managers, politicians) won’t have it in us . . . [Full text of this article]

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