Co-ordinated health and social care: What would it take to really make it happen?

FACTS AND FABLES IN HEALTH

“Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden”.

So said Phaedrus, the Thracian slave, who was freed by Augustus and was responsible for translating Aesop’s fables into Latin.

Not a bad place to start when trying to disentangle truth from fable in health policy.

Among the stupidest jokes of recent times is the former Treasury secretary Liam Byrne's note to his successor in 2010 after the general election. It read 'there's no money left'.

There are deeply, hog-whimperingly stupid things to do, and then there's something like this.

With apologies to Monty Python, a short Life Of Brian tribute.

EXTERIOR

SCENE: A LARGE CROWD HAS GATHERED TO HEAR FROM NHS ENGLAND CHIEF EXECUTIVE SIMON STEVENS, WHOM THEY HAVE MISTAKEN FOR THE MESSIAH.

THE CROWD ARE CHANTING HIS NAME IN UNISON (AND POSSIBLY OTHER TRADES UNIONS).

CROWD: Si-mon! Si-mon! Si-mon! Si-mon! (etc)

SIMON STEVENS: Good morning. I've got one or two things to say to you.

CROWD: Yes! Tell us both of them.

SIMON STEVENS: You don't need to follow me. You don't need to follow anyone.

CROWD: Yes! We don't need to follow anyone.

News versus not-news can be defined very simply: 'dog bites man' is not news; 'man bites dog' is news (or possibly a result of overstretched food banks).

So why is the finding of Tory squillionaire Lord Ashcroft's latest national opinion polling vaguely worthy of comment, I hear you ask?

We know the NHS is important, but ... this is going to be an economy general election, isn't it?

Health economist Professor Alan Maynard reports not on Lib Dem education policy, but on the latest outburst of magical policy thinking

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch”
Clinical commissioning groups are under continuous pressure from patient groups, clinicians and others to expand services. As a patient, I have great sympathy with such advocacy, provide it is evidence based of course.

You can say (or indeed sing what you like about Care Services Minister Norman Lamb, but he's honest about his desire for the Lib Dem manifesto to commit to a top-down redisorganisation of the NHS when the inevitable electoral landslide next May sweeps a triumphant Prime Minister Nick Clegg into Downing Street with a majority of 53.

Some quick reactions to the first day of the conference.

Rob Webster gave a human, personal and well-judged speech in his first conference as Confed CE, warning that the time has come for burning ambition to replace burning platforms. Praising colleagues' success in the achievements of sustaining care quality over years of flat funding,

Webster called for ambition, determination and realism among the political leaders in the lengthy trundle to the next general election.

This isn't just a crap speech; it's an ex-M&S boss crap speech

THINKING LIKE A PATIENT, ACTING LIKE A TAXPAYER – FROM NHS CHALLENGES TO NEW SOLUTIONS?

Simon Stevens, CEO, NHS England

A link to the version with key graphics on NHS England's website is here.

We meet here in Liverpool at a defining moment in the history of our National Health Service.

Health economist Professor Alan Maynard reviews mainstream healthcare reform strategies’ cyclical and unfocused nature, and suggests some potentially effective approaches instead.

The reluctance of managers and policymakers in public and private healthcare systems to use data and evidence is remarkable. In a world nominally governed by achievement of objectives such as efficiency, equity and expenditure control, decision-makers blunder around repeating the errors of yesteryear and usually being paid large salaries for their failures.

Policymaking by myopic politicians

Unsurprisingly, The Simon Burns Song provoked a Twitter request for a companion piece dedicated to Care Services Minister Norman Lamb.

Politicians are, after all, only human.

Norman is a man I like, and this is a request I was happy to take.

Norman Lamb

The glasses channel Michael Caine, back in The Ipcress File.