A bold idea to finally fix the NHS: make it independent | Anne Marie Rafferty and Jonathan Grant

The government could follow the Bank of England’s footsteps by removing politics from the equation and giving oversight to autonomous experts

Faced with an ageing population and funding pressures, fresh thinking is needed to brace the NHS for what lies ahead. Perhaps the answer to some of the impending problems in health policy can be found with a relatively old idea adapted from the world of monetary policy.

In 1997, Gordon Brown announced his intention to free the Bank of England from political control and give it the independence to set interest rates. More than 20 years on from New Labour’s historic decision, it might be time to do something similar for Britain’s most cherished institution – its health service.

Political parties have different ideas about how much more money the health service needs

Related: Patient safety getting worse, say two-thirds of NHS doctors

Continue reading... March 20, 2018 at 04:30PM