Click here for details of 'Andrew Lansley's Millwall Tendency', via subscription-based Health Policy Intelligence.

Irwin Brown of the Socialist Health Association thinks it is time to park the Health And Social Care Bill.

The Health and Social Care Bill is due to finish its committee stage next week, but it is obviously in serious trouble. There is a compelling argument to simply park it for a while.

Click here for details of Andrew Lansley's Millwall Tendency, via subscription-based Health Policy Intelligence.

Politicians view U-turns as many people view U-bends - useful things, but no desire to go near them yourself.

After his handy manoeuvre on price competition, if Our Saviour And Liberator Andrew Lansley is considering retraining for life after politics, then plumbing might be up the list.

The world always needs plumbers.

Click here for details of Andrew Lansley's Millwall Tendency via subscription-based Health Policy Intelligence.

Cats are wriggling their way out of badly-drafted bags.

The uncorrected Hansard of Tuesday's health select committee session with Our Saviour And Liberator Andrew Lansley and DH colleagues is now online.

The Health Policy Insight team may swear a bit, occasionally when under extreme provocation. As a rule, we try to avoid personal attacks.

Although we do make an exception for special, special Health Minister Simon Burns. And actually, we make an exception for anyone who's a bit much to bear.

What the hell: some rules are made to be broken.

Click here for details of Andrew Lansley's Millwall Tendency via subscription-based Health Policy Intelligence.

With thanks to several Health Policy Insight readers for sharing this document, below follows the text of the DH's official advice on the legal status of GP commissioning consortia and shadow consortia.

Status of GP consortia and ‘shadow’ consortia
1. This note provides clarification on a number of questions that have been raised about:

In this guest editorial, Nick Seddon, deputy director of Reform thinktank assesses key issues which are dogging changes to the NHS

In its favour, the Government has recognised that the NHS needs reform. Spending doubled, performance dawdled, productivity dipped.

It is perverse to protect waste – most people agree – and there’s enormous scope for boosting value across the system, redesigning services to shift care out of old hospitals and into more appropriate and cost-effective settings.

Click here for details of Andrew Lansley's Millwall Tendency, via subscription-based Health Policy Intelligence.

The uncorrected transcript of the latest health select committee evidence session on commissioning is now online.

Extracts of a few key exchanges follow below.

Click here for details of Andrew Lansley's Millwall Tendency, via subscription-based Health Policy Intelligence.

Variation in healthcare is a fact of life. And much like the broader facts of life, the scared and the stupid don't like to talk about it.

Another day, another batch of bad news stories for Andrew Lansley’s NHS reforms.

(I’ve typed that so often, it feels as if it deserves its own acronym, but ADABOBNSFALNR will never catch on. It sounds like the name of a Nordic volcano that's going to screw up everyone's travel plans, which, when you think about it ...)

Today’s trio of tribulations carry quite a sting.

Open primaries, primary care and a Greek tragedy