Clause 51 - Annual reviews
Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill
10:45 am
Mr Chris Grayling (Epsom and Ewell, Conservative)
It would be unfair to get into a debate about Jennifer Denning's work. Jennifer Denning was a committed public servant, as indeed was John de Braux's predecessor. People in the NHS at all levels, including managers and clinicians, do the best that they can for patients. Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they do not. We want to create a system that will work with the health care professionals to try to help them to deliver quality care to the patients, rather than one that works against them and ties them up in unnecessary red tape, distorting clinical priorities.
You will know from your constituency, Mr. Atkinson, the reality of the situation. Opposition Members know it from their constituencies, and I suspect—although I do not expect them to admit it in the Committee—that Labour Members also know it. That reality is that
the pinnacle of the target structure—the star rating system, and the management effort that goes into working towards the star ratings—is distorting clinical work in the health service; that is wrong.