ALL LONGER WAITING LISTS care groups come up to the standard of the best."
• A "challenge for the professions" to surup out what Blair calls "unnecessary demarcations", and introduce "more flextraining and working "patient care challenge"
to hospitals and to wait too long for an operation that they need.
• And te "chalicoge on prevention", to "persuade more people to play their part in achieving better health by adopting a more healthy life style".
Blair relerred ta ORCI quango already established, the commission for Health Improvement, as "an Oisted for the NHS". of We are warned that Oftsed-style "hit squads" will crack down on "failing hospicals". tions in performance between hospitals tends to rellect varving catchments, social pressures and levels of resources.
At national level, too there will be a new group of task forces, one for cach of the five challenge arcas. And Blair himself will take charge: "a new Cabinet committee chaired by me will be estabA ș if this gathering horde O deces interference were not worrying enough for •acarta workers, Blair went out of his way to sour the pill of the extra cash with a warninto will tike augh will often painful decisions about change in order to make progress."
For over 20 years hospital staff pressure work harder and more "flexibly", of bearing the brunt of every cash squeeze and "efficiency measure. fear that even as new money is injected, they will once again be the fall guys for a government "modernisation" whose main objective seems to be hang tough in the eyes of the right wing press The "partnership" proposal significantly leaves out the views and interests of health workers and health unions Nor indeed will service users ser a ook il, as the growurg army of quangos to forcemarch the more only vaguely understood, which significantly tip the balance of power towards the least accountable of all NHS professionals - GPs.
answer Labour's new line on the NHS should be a senuine welcome for the new cash, but to step up the that it ts directed towards front-line care and not into yet gets to be foisted on an exhausted and under-valued workforce.