Health chief tells of challenge facing NHS

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• By Joe Willis »

The head of the NHS in the North-East has been appointed to oversee the Government’s radical health service reforms. Joe Willis spoke to Ian Dalton about the proposals.

THE NHS is facing one of the biggest overhauls in its 62- year history.

Under plans announced by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, hospitals will become more autonomous and GPs will be handed responsibility for buying services for their patients.

In addition, thousands of NHS managers could find themselves out of work as the country’s ten strategic health authorities and 152 primary care trusts are abolished.

While unions and Labour MPs have criticised the plans, Ian Dalton describes the details in the White Paper as dramatic and exciting.

The chief executive of NHS North-East has been appointed by the Department of Health as managing director of provider development.

For at least the next year, he will oversee the coalition Government’s vision for the NHS.

As well as working with acute hospitals and community- based services to implement the changes, he will help design a new healthcare regulation system.

The appointment comes after Mr Dalton was hired by the Government to co-ordinate the country’s response to the swine flu pandemic.

It is also reward for the high regard the NHS in the North- East is held.

Mr Dalton told The Northern Echo yesterday he had accepted the job because it gave him “an opportunity to make a national contribution” to the future of the NHS.

He said the new NHS would give patients more choice about where and when they had their treatment.

He said giving GPs the power to procure services would put them in the “driving seat” on behalf of the patients.

However, with many GPs expected to seek help from private health companies to buy services, critics say the NHS is facing privatisation by the back door.

In response, Mr Dalton said the changes were the next stage of the NHS’s development, and added: “I do not think the Government sees it as privatisation.”

Currently about 4,000 people work for primary care trusts and the strategic health authority in the North-East.

Opposition MPs and unions leaders are fearful of large numbers of redundancies.

Mr Dalton confirmed that the Government wanted a significant reduction in NHS management resources, but said that would mean more resources for the front line.

His appointment has also drawn criticism from the Taxpayers’ Alliance, which said the NHS should not be taking on more executives with sixfigure salaries.

Mr Dalton said it was not for him to answer if he was worth the money, and added: “Like everyone who works in the NHS, I just want to do the best I can for the patients.”