feeling the heat: The impact on Lansley of NHS reform

It is tempting to speculate on the demise of Andrew Lansley and his NHS reforms, reading the headlines and thinking it has never been this bad before. It is easy to be distracted by the noise and smoke of battle over the NHS reforms. Most reforming health secretaries have almighty rows, and it can be the making, rather than the breaking, of them.

Beware those who have swallowed whole the rhetoric of reform. NHS reform in recent decades is a catalogue of grand visions and only partial delivery by a service resilient to real change. This time may be no different.

Lansley is on the rack. But does it matter? It is important for the future of value based pricing (VBP), but the biggest issue remains the £20bn savings goal. Lack of money, not the NHS reforms, will pose the greatest challenge to market access and uptake.