Cancer conundrum

Unlike the majority of Whitehall departments, the coalition Government has agreed to increase health spending – despite the NHS being hindered by financially draining inefficiencies. It could be argued,

legitimately, that the Health Service is very fortunate indeed.

Of course, the consequences of an ageing population, and advancements

in medical science, mean that the spending increase, albeit a modest one in real terms, will not keep pace with the increased workload

facing the NHS.

However, it is simply not acceptable for managers to complain endlessly about their predicament, and devise scare stories about cancer waiting times, without offering any practical solutions of their own. It is their job to manage – and they are now paid lucrative salaries to do so. Indeed, the NHS bureaucracy became one of the country's growth industries under New Labour.

The challenge facing NHS managers is actually a simple one. They need to prioritise key and essential services, like the treatment of cancer patients, while scaling back on expenditure that is less vital. They also need to look at the organisation of individual departments, and at how care can be maintained, or preferably enhanced, within existing resources.

As such, it is a new mindset that is required – one that is prepared to face up to the spending squeeze pragmatically rather than an approach that is dependent upon Ministers signing a blank cheque, the unsustainable remedy that Labour prescribed for the NHS.