There is an unwelcome culture now embedded in the English structure through which the State and its outsourcing satellites runs our public services. Or responds to unexpected emergencies and events. Late or never delivery, cover ups, buck passing and warnings ignored are no longer the exception but the rule. This has to change because while […]
NHS Reports of using spare capacity in the private health sector to help deal with backlogs in the NHS make sense. In the short term this is the obvious route to improvement, as it does not require massive reorganisation of the NHS. To be effective it needs to be disciplined and working to a programme, […]
As I said in my last post, the organisational structure of the NHS, both medical and administrative, is dysfunctional. Unless you are addicted to queues, waiting lists and needless suffering. Failure to actually deal with these issues, apart from tinkering, promises and announcements, now threatens the very future of the NHS as a public service. […]
I have discussed in previous posts the bewildering systems of managing and funding the NHS, including the broad outline of a better financial model. Today it is time to look at an outline of a way a rejuvenated NHS can be built and managed. We start with the general structure of control and direction. From […]
In terms of its original blueprint the NHS has already failed. Delays, ambulance queues, waiting lists, vanishing GPs, strikes and so on, put timely care out of reach to millions. Meanwhile the nation has scarcely ever been more unhealthy with lifestyle and diet issues undermining the wellbeing of millions. How to stay healthy is left […]
The NHS is probably the most comprehensive health service in the world. But it is now in crisis at every level and in every sphere. From time to time I plan expose what I believe are fatal flaws, which hobble its outcomes and frustrate both its selfless, overworked and dedicated staff as well as its […]
It was inevitable that rising interest rates would eventually push many mortgage payments beyond the affordability threshold. But the root of the problem is not rate of interest. It is the the size of the mortgage itself. The underlying threat will remain if and when rates reduce. It is a threat not just to the […]
It is now nearly six months since my last posting. I have been taking a break from writing, concentrating instead on family, keeping fit, exploring nature and taking stock. I have learned a lot. I have also been watching in writer’s silence as my country, of which I am increasingly embarrassed, even ashamed, has blundered […]
The scale of the mess we are in is way beyond just figures and forecasts. In fact it is hard to recall a forecast which turned out to be right. But our biggest problem is about the ability of government to function independently when crafting the economic management of its country. We saw under the […]
In 2008 at the height of the financial crisis I wrote this book, setting out new ideas for the future governance of our country. Some of these have not stood the test of time but some have, including many key ideas covering the economy, education, the NHS and foreign affairs. And, especially now when governance […]