What a waste

IT is an absurd situation that exacerbates the public’s misgivings about the management of the National Health Service. The country’s first walk-in centre, opened in Bradford three years ago by Alan Johnson, the then Health Secretary, is facing cuts – because it is too popular.

By The Newsroom

Published 24th May 2011, 07:00 BST

This farce would not have looked out of place on Yes Prime Minister, the TV comedy that made light of such foibles. Before NHS bosses make themselves look even more foolish, they should, perhaps, consider why this centre – and 150 others – was opened at considerable expense. As well as providing medical access for deprived people, this network was also intended to make it more convenient for working individuals to see a GP during a lunch break, or after work.

Now such services are being scaled back because the costs can no longer be justified at a time when the NHS is receiving record funding, with patients being referred back to those GP surgeries whose intransigence prompted Ministers to back these walk-in centres. Is David Cameron seriously prescribing this?