On 14 December 1995, I had a letter published in The Times1 in which I pointed out that ‘the cost of the Family Health Service Authority had risen by 80% and the cost of hospital administration by 1700% between 1985 and 1993’ under a Conservative administration. This was reduced in 1995 but still remains high.
The editorial by Caroline Kamau2 in the JRSM makes another point, namely the lack of people with clinical experience in National Health Service administration. She points out that this in itself increases National Health Service costs.
This is a necessary point and should be considered by politicians.
The situation that Kamau highlighted reminded me of the physician superintendant who reigned at the Lister Hospital Stevenage and held one of the last such posts in the NHS. The loss of such professional expertise has been sadly missed and the return of his like would be welcomed, he combined administration with weekly clinical sessions very efficiently since he understood issues.
Declarations
Competing interests
JPG was Head of Medicines Division DHSS from 1976–1984 and then Director General of ABPI from 1984–1994 and part of the industry negotiating team for 3 PPRS negotiations.
References
- 1.Griffin JP. The cost of U-turn on NHS bureaucracy. Times 14 December 1995.
- 2.Kamau C. Should clinical experience be a precondition for a job in NHS management? J R Soc Med 2015; 108: 120–121. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]