The HPI policy interview series continues with Dr Peter Brambleby, Joint Director of Public Health, NHS Croydon and Croydon Council telling editor Andy Cowper about how commissioning and public health relate.

Preface: these are Dr Brambleby’s personal views, to stimulate thought and debate, and not necessarily those of NHS Croydon or Croydon Council.

Where will public health sit in the new system?

Good morning.

Is this an omen for the fate of Sir David Nicholson, former communist party member, who today addresses the NHS Confederation conference?

There were various digs at Nicholson in Health Secretary Andrew Lansley CBE MP's speech yesterday. Nicholson will have spotted them.

It will be interesting to see whether he chooses to respond.

Did I hear that right? In response to an audience question, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley CBE MP told the NHS Confederation conference that the independent commissioning board would negotiate all contracts for primary care?

So that's every GP practice, every pharmacy, every community midwifery service, every dentistry contract?

About 8,000 contracts?

So there is effectively no job left for PCTs. And the independent commissioning board is going to have to be very big. Which involves management cost, at a time of attempting to take 1/3 off the 2008-9 management budget.

Hello from Confed. You will have seen the latest dose of Maynard Doctrine.

As ever, much to say and little time. Word is that July 5 will not see the publication of the White Paper: Treasury have sent it back refusing to sanction the proposed financial governance arrangements for GPs.

I’m up the top in the nosebleed seats. Lansley looks like a ghost on the screen.

The Health Secretary’s speech is online and unmitigated here.

Health Secretary speech to the NHS Confederation Conference 2010

‘Shifting power to the frontline’

Good afternoon, it’s great to be back in Liverpool, on this stage and with all of you.

Professor Alan Maynard OBE looks at the emerging elements and wicked issues from the current policy fog

The English NHS is scheduled to have its most significant “redisorganisation” since the 1970s. As ever, it is well-intentioned but largely evidence-free.

Furthermore, the details of the changes are lacking - and HM Treasury is currently very worried about ensuring that GPs are accountable. The idea of GP accountability is a nice issue, as primary care has largely been a data-free black hole since 1911.

You say you want a revolution …

Morning.

So if commissioning is going to reshape services and patterns of use, that will change things for secondary care, won’t it?

So we should ask some people in secondary care about it, shouldn’t we?

The first view from secondary care comes from Timothy Heymann, reading in health management, Imperial College Business School and consultant physician, Kingston Hospital.

Previous instalments:
Nigel Edwards, acting CE, NHS Confederation

Our policy interview series continues with Timothy Heymann, Reader in Health Management, Imperial College Business School and consultant physician, Kingston Hospital, giving editor Andy Cowper a secondary care perspective on commissioning reforms

How do you see clinically-led commissioning reshaping secondary care working practices and patterns in the coming years?

For those of you who can't get out, Defoe toed in a cross after 28 mins(ish).

It's not a very good display. Slovenia look more confident on the ball. All their team look like clones of Goran Ivanisevic.

The match is a bit like World-Class Commissioning - exciting but crap.

Our interview series continues with editor Andy Cowper interviewing Dr Michael Dixon GP, chair of NHS Alliance.

What are the main opportunities for GPs and the primary care team in the new policy?

MD: “This is the time for general practice to up its game. Current changes allow GPs and general practices a major role as local leaders in determining the nature and quality of all local services available and improving local health. Potentially, they can move from being peripheral to this process to becoming the driving force within it.