The RCN Congress can be relied upon to provide a bit of entertainment every year. By and large, the basic premise is that more, better-paid nurses are needed.

They are not necessarily wrong, as this US study finds. Nurse prescribing has been evaluated as broadly safe; and nurses deliver significant amounts of chronic disease management in primary care (making good money for GPs via the QOF). Nurses' important role in appropriate workforce substitution has been know for a good while now.

The Liberal Democrats take their party policymaking process seriously, as we see in the explosive intervention from Norman Lamb MP (Nick Clegg's consiglere and political adviser) on today's BBC Politics Show.

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Independent deputy political editor Nigel Morris has a funny little story about the DH leading the Whitehall pack.

Just not quite in the ideal manner.

He reports, "The biggest spender on greenery is Andrew Lansley’s Department of Health, which is seeking efficiency savings of £20bn from the NHS over the next four years. It paid £12,383.30 between May 2010 and this March for plants and trees for its 'core headquarters estate'."

Good morning.

I'm once again grateful to a friend of Health Policy Insight for transcribing Secretary Of State For The Time Being Andrew Lansley's appearance on BBC Newsnight, which appears below.

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Click here for details of 'A pause for not-listening and telling us a love story', via subscription-based Health Policy Intelligence.

I'm grateful to the sharp-eyed and shrewd Daily Telegraph health correspondent Martin Beckford for pointing out that Our Saviour And Liberator Andrew Lansley's note to the Health Select Committee is now online.

The text is copied below, but as Martin notes, the striking point is that Monitor's proposed ability to fine commissioners is formally gone. Monitor will of course still be able to fine trusts.

Irwin Brown of the Socialist Health Association on reform absurdities and realistic strategies

The longer this week goes on, the more the brilliant April first piece in the HSJ looks like reality. The fact that they printed such a piss-taking article shows how low the stock of LaLa has fallen. What with that and the LaLa rap song by MC NxtGen, things are getting a bit silly.

The health policy universe was today in mourning as news sunk in of Nadine Dorries MP's standing down from the Commons health select committee to serve on the chairmen's panel instead.

Thanks to Mike Birtwistle of MHP Health Mandate for the information.

If you were going to set up this NHS Future Forum as a genuine, robustly independent listening exercise, would you ask very strong supporter of the White Paper, shortlisted-but-not-appointed chief medical officer candidate and former RCGP chair Dr Steve Field to chair it?

Me neither.

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Today's Times editorial moots the possibility of Lib Dem MP Dr Vincent Cable as the next Secretary Of State For Health.

It is a very interesting possibility. The Lib Dems will need a 'win' such as heading up a big, spending department if they get hammered in the local elections and lose the AV referendum, which opinion polls currently think likely.

Cable also brings a human hinterland to the world of front-line politics. He is liked across party political divisions. He had no expenses issues.