The Doctors\u2019 Association UK (DAUK) has responded to the resignation of health secretary Wes Streeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DAUK notes that in his statement, Streeting cited the government\u2019s unpopularity. However, many NHS staff will feel he had become an increasingly unpopular health secretary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There has been a growing sense that the concerns of frontline NHS workers, and in particularly doctors, were not being listened to or addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DAUK hopes that whoever succeeds him will take a more collaborative approach and will genuinely listen to NHS staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DAUK has raised concerns about several aspects of the Government\u2019s Ten Year Health Plan, including the increasing role of the private sector in NHS delivery, unresolved issues around pay and working conditions, training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are also concerns linked to the Single Patient Record, the involvement of Palantir Technologies in NHS data systems, and the lobbying of Government by corporations and private individuals .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The challenges facing the NHS are significant, and meaningful reform will only succeed through partnership with the workforce delivering care every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Matt Kneale, DAUK co-chair, said: \u201cDoctors do not need another period of headline-driven reform, rushed announcements, or policy made without meaningful engagement with the workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe next health secretary should begin by rebuilding trust, meeting frontline staff, listening without defensiveness and recognising that patient safety and workforce morale are inseparable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat means tackling unsafe scope creep, ending the use of ACPs as substitutes for doctors on medical rotas, being honest with patients about who is providing their care, and engaging seriously with the profession to avoid further industrial action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt also means addressing doctors\u2019 concerns about the impact of the new draft GMC order, which appears to reverse years of agreed progress on how health regulators should interact with their registrants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Sarah Jacques, DAUK GP co-lead, said: \u201cDuring a time when we desperately need stability and leadership, I am concerned about the chaos that we are seeing again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHowever, I am not sad to see the resignation of a health secretary who has shut down the voice of general practice and made conditions for GPs and patients so much worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI look forward to a new health secretary who is prepared to work with GPs and appreciate the genuine worth that we bring to the NHS.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are a non-profit campaigning and lobbying organisation led by frontline doctors, for frontline doctors. We are volunteers and our collective aim is to give frontline workers a voice to be heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n