Health expert explains why he quit Lib Dems over NHS “reform”

Graham Winyard – the health expert who quit the Lib Dems recently over NHS “reform” – has written a post for the Guardian explaining why he left the Party. The former member of the party’s health committee says:

“I resigned from the Liberal Democrats this week because I have been arguing within the party for more than a year that it is just not sensible to impose top-down reorganisation on an NHS struggling with the biggest financial crisis in its history. For the leadership to press ahead in the face of such united opposition simply invites slow-motion disaster for the NHS and the party.

U-turns have advantages when the alternative is driving over a cliff. This is the basic choice faced by the government over its NHS reforms, a choice that has been obscured by the seemingly endless debate over the contents of the bill.”

Do read the whole thing – it’s a thorough explanation of both the difficulty the government face with the NHS and the difficulty Nick CLegg faces with his party.