DR STEPHEN Richards, the man voted in to oversee the NHS reforms in Oxfordshire, remains a positive voice among the doom and gloom surrounding health service restructuring.
The Government has been forced into an embarrassing U-turn over the health service.
The initial delay to allow more consultation and then the changes announced yesterday smack of an administration lacking any clarity of strategy or courage in its convictions.
While some of the changes may well be right, to the general public the whole reform programme now looks horribly compromised and something that does not inspire confidence.
Dr Richards is keen to emphasise there are no significant obstacles to change here in Oxfordshire.
And he believes we are still on course for a reformed, healthier, NHS to be up and running next year, beating the Government’s now-abandoned target of 2013.
While Dr Richards’ optimism may be well-founded, we feel it would be better for more time to be taken to ensure that Oxfordshire gets a reformed NHS that is both efficient but will serve its patients thoroughly and properly.
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