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NHS chief admits to dismay at Jeremy Hunt's meddling
NHS England chairman Sir Malcolm Grant reveals frustration at health secretary's attempts to micro-manage service
Professor Malcolm Grant, Provost of University College London, London, Britain - 10 Oct 2011
Sir Malcolm Grant admitted to having 'some very difficult discussions' with the health secretary.
Sir Malcolm Grant, chairman of NHS England, has revealed his frustration at attempts by the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to micro-manage Britain's health service.
Grant said politicians should stop meddling in the NHS at a time when clinicians were supposed to have been put in charge under recent reforms, and admitted fighting with Hunt over attempts to interfere through a detailed blueprint called the NHS mandate, which was published this year. Grant also revealed that he had been forced to block ministers' attempts to punish clinicians who failed to meet certain care standards by reducing their budgets.
Grant, a former provost at University College London, said: "I am a staunch believer that the NHS is one of the finest social institutions in the world and the people who make it that are the frontline staff. I think the way we design the structure to incentivise people is right, and to take money away and penalise poor performance is not the best way to get the best out of people."
He denied rumours he had considered quitting his role over his battles with Hunt, in particular over the NHS mandate, saying: "That would have been an abdication of responsibility. We had, shall we say, some really difficult discussions, which is absolutely right, it is what you would expect."
In a wide-ranging interview with the Observer to launch a new era for the NHS, Grant also claimed to be "quietly confident" that the service would cope with what is expected to be its busiest winter. He admitted to being surprised by the record number of people attending A&E departments in recent weeks. The "big uncertainty"would arise if there was a major change in the weather, but he said the system "will cope".
