Hodge: Radical NHS shake-up entails risks

Margaret Hodge, chair of the public accounts committee, commented on the report:
“The Department of Health acknowledged the risks associated with this radical shake-up of the NHS.
“Whilst the reforms could complement the imperative of achieving £20 billion efficiency gains by 2014/15, the reorganisation might also distract those responsible for making the savings while safeguarding standards of patient care.
“Furthermore, if the department’s estimate of the one-off costs associated with reorganization turns out to have been too low, it will make the challenge of achieving savings for reinvestment even tougher.
“The health reforms are still at an early stage and key questions have yet to be addressed. It is vital that the DoH creates robust accountability structures so that parliament and the public can properly follow the taxpayers’ pound and hold those responsible to account.
“We were also concerned that the department has not yet developed a high quality risk management protocol for either the commissioning or providing bodies.”