The sixth Health Secretary in four years, Yvette Cooper will need to be “clear-eyed about the difference between real progress and political mirage: what is improving and what is not,” according to analysis from Nuffield Trust.
In a blog post, ‘Truth over triumphalism: Yvette Cooper must paint fuller picture of NHS progress than her predecessors,’ Chief Executive Thea Stein and Director of Communications and External Affairs Leonora Merry, set out six points where greater transparency and honesty is needed, if talk about reform and reorganisation is going to be turned into a credible – and deliverable – programme for change and real improvements for patients.
The analysis cautions against relying on claims of progress that don’t take into account the whole story. The areas where it is calling for transparency and clarity include progress on reducing waiting lists, improvements in A&E, staffing levels and shortfalls in critical areas, dentistry, the inherent contradiction in the Health Bill between devolving or centralising power and the UK-US medicines deal.
“The difference between a recovery story and a recovery mirage lies in how honestly ministers describe what is changing, how fragile it is, and what it means for patients. After years of low public satisfaction, repeated reform promises and visible pressure on services, the new Secretary of State will need to rebuild public trust that improvement is not only possible, but meaningful: better care that is easier to access,” Thea Stein and Leonora Merry conclude.
Fixing social care
New Prime Minister, Andy Burnham has made some significant comments about having the courage to address the problems in social care, which have a financial and operational impact on the NHS. He is expected to deliver a full speech on social care on Wednesday (July 29).
Picture: Yvette Cooper ©House of Commons
