§ Mr. Pawseyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement about the establishment of the Health Services Supervisory Board and the National Health Service Management Board as recommended by the Griffiths Inquiry.
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§ Mr. FowlerI set up the Health Services Supervisory Board on 25 October 1983. It meets regularly under my chairmanship. Its members are the Minister for Health, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security, my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Mr. Patten), my noble Friend Baroness Trumpington, the Permanent Secretary, the Chief Medical Officer, the Chief Nursing Officer, the chairman of the NHS Management Board and Mr. Roy Griffiths.
The chairman of the NHS Management Board, Mr. Victor Paige, was appointed from 1 January this year. The board has now been constituted and is in operation within my Department and accountable to me, as follows:
- Director of Health Authority Finance—Mrs. G. T. Banks, Under Secretary DHSS.
- Director of Planning and Information Technology—Mr. M. J. Fairey, Chairman of the Health Service Information Advisory Group.
- Director of Health Authority Liaison—Mr. C. Graham, Under Secretary DHSS.
- Director of Operations—Mr. G. Hart, Deputy Secretary DHSS.
- Director of Financial Management—to be appointed.
- Director of Personnel—to be appointed.
Dr. Donald Acheson, the Chief Medical Officer, and Mrs. Anne Poole, the Chief Nursing Officer, will serve on the management board, as well as being members of the supervisory board.
The NHS Management Board will be accountable to me for the implementation within the health authorities of the Government's policies for their management. It will, on my behalf, give leadership and monitor performance, with the aim of securing improvements in services to patients and more effective use of resources. The board's membership is drawn from the NHS, the DHSS and the business world — as Roy Griffiths and his team recommended.