Management Consultants Plan for NHS Rejected

Management Consultants Plan for NHS Rejected

I wonder how many of us who have seen the lack of care given to our elderly under the NHS would like to sort out the NHS given a chance?  I see from the news today that some men and women at suits at an expensive management consultancy grabbed the chance with both hands. 

According to the lovely Sian Williamson this morning on breakfast television, the government says it has rejected advice from management consultants to cut the NHS workforce in England by 10% over the next five years.   I doubt they care overmuch.  Even if their advice is total rubbish (and how can plausible young men and women in suits be such experts on absolutely everything?).  Presumably they will just wait until they get commissioned again – change the date on the front of the report and re-submit it with minor changes.

The plans to close 137,000 clinical and admin posts were proposed by McKinsey and Company to save £20bn by 2014.  They didn’t say how much the McKinsey bill for producing this tosh was – but clearly, with an election approaching and the NHS being a sacred cow, they came to the wrong conclusions. 

The consultants also said a recruitment freeze and early retirement programme should be established, the Health Service Journal reported.  But the Department of Health said many services needed more staff, not fewer. 

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said the government needed to be honest about its position on the NHS.

“One minute Labour ministers are going out telling the public they’re going to protect the NHS, the next they’re spending taxpayers’ money on management consultants who are planning to cut 10% of the staff of the NHS,” he said.

The health service budget is due to rise by more than 5% each year until 2011.  But after that, many predict it will see a cut in real terms.

The government invited consultants to come up with proposals for how savings could be made and McKinsey responded by proposing drastic cuts.  I challenge anybody who diagrees with those findings to spend 5 minutes in the geriatric ward at Addenbrookes.  And perhaps sit in on a meeting with the bed manager.  Personally I think those job cuts should be made with a very blunt knife.