Simple Simon

Ex New Labour Councillor (1998 - 2002, Brixton) Simon Stevens is the recently appointed Chief Executive of the English NHS. Today he issued a report on the NHS over the next five years.

Simon was busy between 2004 - 2013 working in the various offshoots of an outfit called UnitedHealth. He was variously the President of the European bit, then the Chief Executive Officer and Vice President of the whole corporation. In 2013 his speakers' notes described his job as follows:-

'His responsibilities include leading UnitedHealth’s strategy for, and engagement with, national health reform, ensuring its businesses are positioned for changes in the market and regulatory environment.'

The Guardian did a profile of the NHS's new chief in October 2013. They wrote:-

'He is an advocate of local pay in the NHS. One option is that he could join forces with hospital trusts to introduce that, to try to stop staff costs consuming 70% of the NHS's £100bn budget, to free up funds for the rising demand for its services. Health unions would fight that.

He believes that competition between hospitals drives up standards. And he has suggested that the NHS could get its own equivalent of Michael Gove's free schools in the shape of independent GPs who would compete with existing surgeries for patients.'

Stephen's NHS report says that another £30 billion can be squeezed from the Health service in the next 5 years on top of the £20 billion extracted in the last 5. About £8 billion of the last squeeze came from the 15% cut in NHS workers' wages. This time NHS workers will have to do the extra work, just like before, but they will perhaps get some part of the increase in inflation year on year partly covered by small increases in their salaries. (Although local pay would undoubtedly sort all that out.)

Tory Health Secretary Andrew Lansley's £3 billion 'GP led Trusts' NHS reorganisation - that pushed the privatisation door, already opened by New Labour, even wider, - are still busy 'buying' NHS services. So far 10% of total NHS spending has gone private. (Not including the £63 billion outstanding PFI costs inherited from Labour.) Simon is sanguine. He says:-

'I think that the vast majority of care that’s provided for NHS patients will continue to be provided by NHS providers, but ultimately it’s patients that should make that choice, not someone sitting in an NHS office.'

Privatisation continues to be the main worry in all opinion polls taken on the future of the NHS. Even with Labour Simon in charge.