Burnham's olive branch to Lansley

The new shadow health secretary Andy Burnham has held out an olive branch to his Tory counterpart Andrew Lansley over the battle ground for health reform that may well dominate the next few months in Parliament.

Burnham has said : "Drop your bill and we'll work with you to reform NHS commissioning"
whilst adding

"The NHS is now in the danger zone. You have failed to build a consensus around your plans. It's time to stop digging in. Listen and change course or you will damage patient care."

Burnham,who was appointed on Friday has written to the health secretary with what he calls a constructive offer to resolve the "dangerous stalemate" on NHS reform.

Burnham believes the financial challenge is the overriding priority for the NHS but that the Government's contested top-down re-organisation is proving to be a dangerous and damaging distraction.

This is a genuine offer and I hope he will accept it. But make no mistake - we will fight the Government every step of the way if it tries to force these dangerous reforms on the NHS. They will unpick the fabric of the NHS and it will never be the same again."

Sad epitaph of the tick box culture

Today's news that a Stafford Hospital was found to have 'routinely neglected' patients while the management was preoccupied with cost-cutting is nothing short of an absolute disgrace.

Whilst this may be a seen as an isolated incident,it will be held up by the Tories in particular as being systematic of the heavy handed approach to management and systems in not only the NHS but across the public sector.

The Tories are crying out for a public inquiry.Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley believes that one will help avoid mistakes in the future.

Andy Burnham considers Robert Francis' second stage inquiry to be adequate for the moment.

The report has found that at least 400 more people had died at the hospital between 2005 and 2008 than would be expected after hearing evidence from more than 900 patients and families.