HC Deb 15 November 1983 vol 48 cc713-4
9. Mr. Favell

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consultations he has held with interested parties on the implementation of the recommendations proposed in the Griffiths report.

10. Mr. Galley

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what specific steps he is planning to take to implement the recommendations of the Griffiths report.

Mr. Fowler

As I told the House on 25 October, I am committed to improving management in the NHS and I believe that the Griffiths report has made important proposals to achieve this. I am about to consult health authorities, professional staff and other bodies on the report. In the meantime, I intend to take action within the Department to implement the report's proposals.

I am pleased that Mr. Griffiths has agreed to join the supervisory board as a non-executive member.

Mr. Favell

Is the Secretary of State confident that interested parties will accept the implementation of the Griffiths report, thus releasing funds patient care, which is what the NHS is all about?

Mr. Fowler

The objectives of the Griffiths report have been widely accepted, not only in the National Health Service but outside. The aim of the consultation period is to get the exact views of the NHS on how the proposals should be implemented.

Mr. Galley

Although my right hon. Friend is to be congratulated on his positive response to the Griffiths report, does he accept that the establishment of management and supervisory bodies will not, by themselves, improve the quality of management within the NHS? Has my right hon. Friend any further proposals to establish management by objective, individual management responsibilities and personnel appraisement policies in the near future? To what time scale is he working? Is he prepared to develop the ideas as soon as possible?

Mr. Fowler

We are prepared to develop as quickly as possible all ideas that improve the management of the NHS. We wish to establish the supervisory board and the management board within the Department. At the same time, we intend appointing general managers at regional, district and unit levels. The other points raised by my hon. Friend must also be considered.

Mrs. Renée Short

I can tell those hon. Members who have not read the Griffiths report that it is a good blueprint for running a grocery chain, but not the marvellous network of hospitals within the NHS. I understand that the Secretary of State intends consulting the medical profession about the Griffiths report. Does he intend giving the House an opportunity to express its views on the report?

Mr. Fowler

The last matter raised by the hon. Lady was fair, and I shall consider it. Her first point has no validity whatsoever. The differences between running a business and the NHS are great, but there are also great similarities. Above all, both are trying to provide the best possible service to the public at the least cost. I should have thought that the hon. Lady, who is committed to the NHS, would welcome a report that aims at better management of the service.

Mr. Crouch

I welcome the move from consensus management to the introduction of managers in the health authorities, but will my right hon. Friend bear in mind the continuing importance of consultation by managers with the specialists involved in the Health Service, be they medical specialists or those in more junior posts?

Mr. Fowler

There is no question about that. At all levels, that will be the case.

Mr. Kennedy

Given the deep concern exemplified by the NHS and by the response that Mr. Griffiths received recently from the Royal College of Nursing, will the Secretary of State, before proceeding with the recommendations in the report, reconsider the possibility of regional pilot schemes to examine whether the recommendations will work at a practical level?

Mr. Fowler

There are some pilot schemes concerned with management budgets. I shall give the hon. Gentleman details about them. The case for going forward and seeking a better management structure in the Health Service without undergoing the extensive reorganisation that has taken place in the past is, however, overwhelming.

Mr. Meacher

Are not the Griffiths proposals aimed not at improving efficiency but at facilitating further cuts in the Health Service? Is not that the reason why the Government changed their earlier view that the chief executive idea would be incompatible with the professional independence of hospital staff? Will the Secretary of State reconsider the outrageous decision to exclude the chief nursing officer from the advisory board, as nurses constitute half of the staff employed in the NHS?

Mr. Fowler

No final decision has been made about the last matter raised by the hon. Gentleman. I hope that the hon. Gentleman, unlike his predecessor, will accept that the Griffiths report, like Mr. Roy Griffiths himself, is entirely dedicated to trying to improve the NHS. I urge the Opposition to try to aim for a modern Health Service, which is what the Government are trying to achieve.