Intended for healthcare professionals

Editor's Choice

Old, new—worse, better?

BMJ 2011; 342 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d1381 (Published 02 March 2011) Cite this as: BMJ 2011;342:d1381
  1. Jane Smith, deputy editor, BMJ
  1. jsmith{at}bmj.com

As the bill that will radically change the NHS in England goes through parliament, people are starting to worry about the detail—as a series of news stories shows.

One concern has always been that the loss of strategic health authorities would lead to a loss of rational planning. Drawing on experience in south east London, where the SHA had to step in to organise a major reconfiguration of acute services, a King’s Fund report argues that the new NHS Commissioning Board must have responsibility for strategic commissioning because GP consortiums cannot do it (doi:10.1136/bmj.d1355).

Yet others worry that the NHS Commissioning Board may end up being too powerful. …

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