The head of the NHS faced another battering yesterday as MPs accused her of lacking the ‘drive and dynamism’ needed to reform the service.
Amanda Pritchard and colleagues came under fire for giving vague and rambling responses to the Commons Health and Social Care Committee.
The criticism came barely 12 hours after a damning report by the Public Accounts Committee warned health leaders were an obstacle to improvements and appeared ‘remarkably complacent’ and ‘out of ideas’.
Ms Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, gave evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee alongside her chief finance officer and chief nurse.
It included questions on productivity, reforms and finances – and followed a miserable winter for patients, who have faced long waits for ambulances and A&E care.
In a statement afterwards, Layla Moran, a Liberal Democrat MP and chair of the cross-party committee, said: ‘This morning’s evidence session was an opportunity for NHS leadership to prove their drive and dynamism.
‘Regrettably, we were left disappointed and frustrated.
‘We had hoped for a sharpness in witnesses’ responses, but were exasperated by the lengthy and diffuse answers that were given to us and will be writing to them to seek the clarity that we expected to hear in the evidence session.’
Wes Streeting has previously expressed confidence in Ms Pritchard, who was saved by Number 10 when a former Conservative health secretary tried to sack her.
She has been helping to produce Labour’s ten-year-plan for the NHS, which is expected to be published this summer.
During the two-hour Committee hearing, Ms Pritchard admitted the NHS has a misogyny problem as she defended plans to scrap a pledge on women’s health.
She said there is a ‘big cultural challenge’, adding the service had been ‘built by men and does not always have the needs of women at its heart’.
The NHS’s annual planning guidance, which sets out the key priorities for hospitals and community services, is due to be published today.
It will feature fewer national targets than last year and it is expected one that called for a women’s health hub to be established in each region by December 2024 will be among those to be axed.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said the hubs – which have been established in 39 out of 42 local health regions – have had a ‘transformational impact’.
And in a letter to Mr Streeting, it said: ‘If the Government fails to recommit to women’s health hubs, we fear this will result in a deterioration in women’s health and services, an exacerbation of health inequalities and a missed opportunity to support economic growth.’
MPs on the Committee were told that certain ring-fenced funding would be scrapped in the planning guidance to give local health leaders more freedom to decide how to deliver care.
Ms Pritchard said: ‘So, there is a bit of tension here because, quite understandably, there is a desire to see particular things that people care about written into national guidance, and often to see ring-fenced funding around that.
‘Just because something isn’t written in planning guidance doesn’t mean it’s not important and it doesn’t mean the work won’t happen.
‘One example, because it’s been in the media in the last couple of days, women’s health … women’s health is a priority for the Government. It is a priority for the NHS.’
She added: ‘We’re not going to stop caring about all these things or stop working on them, whether or not there is something explicit written in planning guidance.’
An NHS spokesperson said: ‘We have the utmost respect for Parliament and its institutions.
‘Our interactions with the Health and Social Care Committee have always been open, constructive and honest – and we take public accountability incredibly seriously.
‘Tomorrow – as agreed with government – we will be issuing our planning guidance setting out our next steps and targets, meaning we could not share as much information with the committee as we would have liked.
‘We agreed in the committee to share any additional detail as required, and we stand ready to meet with MPs and give evidence to parliamentary committees.’
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘We have rolled out women’s health hubs to nine in every 10 local areas in England, and we are not closing them.
‘This Government inherited an NHS where half of women wait more than 18 weeks for gynaecological care, women wait up to 10 years for an endometriosis diagnosis, half of maternity units are inadequate or require improvement.
‘Women have been let down by the broken NHS for too long and we are determined to change that.
‘Through our investment and reforms, we will make sure the NHS can be there for all woman when they need it.’
