‘Tsunami of bureaucracy’ fear on NHS revamp

A raft of new organisations set up to run the NHS could lead to “a myriad of conflicting policies”, a body which represents NHS organisations has warned.

By The Newsroom

Published 24th Aug 2012, 07:00 BST

Mike Farrar, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said that the range of new bodies set up by the Government could lead to a “tsunami of bureaucracy”.

Mr Farrar made his comments after a survey of NHS bosses found that 57 per cent said a lack of expertise or experience in the new organisations is the biggest risk to the Government’s NHS reforms.

Of the 252 chairs and chief executives of NHS organisations who responded to the survey, more than half said they were concerned about disruption caused by organisational restructuring.

Health Minister Simon Burns said: “The NHS Confederation is wrong – we are slashing NHS bureaucracy, not increasing it. Our reforms remove two layers of administration, saving taxpayers £5.5 billion over the course of this Parliament.

“Our reforms mean that doctors and nurses will be in charge of the NHS, not managers.”