NHS reform. A cause for celebration?

The NHS plan attracted unprecedented support among opinion formers, which persists. It was the first time in the history of the NHS that a government set out a 10-year blueprint. The plan was wise to choose a populist starting point. Strategic health authorities need to tackle the long-standing problem of every town maintaining a district general hospital. The plan's piecemeal proposals for older people failed to address the task of providing high-quality care for this group.