Interview by Andy Cowper

Simon Stevens is well-known to the NHS policy world as one of the principal architects of the New Labour health reforms as policy adviser to health secretaries Frank Dobson and Alan Milburn and PM Tony Blair.

Editor's note: Bob Sang's untimely death has taken away one of the most original and innovative thinkers about the co-production of healthcare. It is not currently clear whether this is Bob's last article. This was written recently for Health Policy Insight, and is published with respect and grateful thanks for Bob's contributions, input and insight.

Derek Felton, MD of Tribal Health Commissioning and Ashton Leigh and Wigan PCT’s chief executive Peter Rowe explain to Health Policy Insight editor Andy Cowper in this first of four quarterly reports how they will be working together to support the development of commissioning.

Interview by Andy Cowper, editor, Health Policy Insight

Matthew Swindells left the Department of Health in April 2008 to become - after the mandatory DH purdah interval - Managing Director for Health at Tribal Group: a significant player in healthcare consulting and the FESC market for commissioning.

Swindells had been seconded from NHS management (as chief executive of Royal Surrey County Hospital Trust) to become special adviser to Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt in 2005.

Interview by Andy Cowper, editor,
Health Policy Insight

Michael Dixon is a man of many hats - GP, chair of NHS Alliance, medical politician, defender of alternative medicine, family man; but just as memorably, a man of many bow ties. The bow tie is not rare among medics - for infection control purposes, some say - but Dixon is almost unimaginable without his. It is literally impossible to imagine him in a T-shirt. Indeed, perhaps it’s where he acquired his ability to tie up loose ends in policy and point them back into the vital world of primary care.

by Andy Cowper, editor, Health Policy Insight

Meet Patrick Robert Carter - Lord Carter of Coles, a Labour peer. He co-founded and sold Westminster Healthcare, ‘saved’ the Wembley Stadium rebuild, strongly supports Titan prisons, chairs a big list of government committees, lives in Islington and was Jack Straw’s best man at both of his weddings. He is 62.

He’s also the inaugural chair of the new NHS Co-operation and Competition Panel, which may make him the fourth most important person in the NHS.

by Andy Cowper, editor, Health Policy Insight

The Liberal Democrats go into the party conference season as the only major Westminster party trying to sell its members (and by extension, the electorate) a major shift in policy. They are the only party promising to cut taxes overall.

And their able deputy leader and finance spokesman Vincent Cable, in an un-leaked announcement in his speech, has suggested that more may be afoot of a tax cut even than their existing promise.

Kings Fund debate 11 September 2008. What is fair – should patients be allowed to top up their care?

by Andy Cowper, editor, Health Policy Insight

This morning saw me out of bed disgustingly early to get the Kings Fund for their latest debate, What is fair: should patients be allowed to top up their NHS care?
Moderated by Kings Fund chief executive Niall Dixon, the panel of Andrew Dillon (NICE), Jo Webber (NHS Confederation), Karol Sikora (CancerPartnersUK and Reform) and Martin Gore (Royal Marsden) covered the issues thoroughly and thoughtfully.

Reforming the funding? It's an (in)sure thing

by Andy Cowper, editor, Health Policy Insight

“For every problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat and wrong.” – H L Mencken

In the latest Colloquia, Health Policy Insight editor Andy Cowper and associate director Tom Smith discuss new ways of incentivising clinicians’ perfomance.

AC: In the last couple of weeks, I thought one of the most interesting developments was the announcement by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust that they would introduce pay bonuses for successful operations was worth discussing.