An open letter to Andrew Lansley  

Rt Hon Andrew Lansley MPSecretary of State for HealthDepartment of HealthRichmond House79 Whitehall London SW1A 2NSMonday 14th November 2011Dear Andrew,As you know, I have always been of the view that the Government is exposing the NHS to considerable risk by initiating a major re-organisation at this time of unprecedented financial challenge. This was the reason why, in October 2010, I wrote to you asking you to delay your Bill and why on my return to the health brief some weeks ago I repeated my offer to work with you if you listened to public and professional opinion and dropped the Bill.It is undeniable that you have increased the risk to safe delivery of NHS services by the timing of your re-organisation. In March, David Nicholson told the Public Accounts Committee: “I’ll not sit here and tell you that the risks have not gone up. They have. The risks of delivering the totality of...