Prime Minister’s team privately blast NHS chief as No10 tries to divert blame for hospital chaos
Simon Stevens told in internal meetings he was not enthusiastic and responsive enough
THE Prime Minister’s senior team have privately blasted the head of the NHS as No10 tries to divert blame for increasing chaos in hospitals.
Respected aides of Theresa May criticised CEO of NHS England Simon Stevens in internal meetings and said he was not enthusiastic and responsive enough.
Downing Street is said to have been annoyed about “political” interventions by Mr Stevens, which include the suggestions that minsters fund social care by scrapping free bus passes and other perks for pensioners.
Mounting pressure on the government over the NHS grew yesterday as it was revealed three times as many people waited more than 12 hours on a trolley for a hospital bed last week as in the whole of January last year.
It is understood that Mr Stevens rejects claims made by the PM that the NHS has been given more money than it needed and he is likely to make this clear today in front of MPs.
No 10 believe that before the 2015 election Mr Stevens agreed a deal that would avoid a funding crisis and they insist there will be no emergency cash injection for the NHS in the next few weeks.
They are also annoyed at the demands for NHS cash when other public services, like the Home Office, had to cope with fewer resources.
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A Downing Street source said: “Theresa May doesn’t believe in quick fixes. There are variants in performance trust by trust that are not explained by cash injections.
No 10 said it did not recognise the claims but a source close to Downing Street said: “They don’t think he [Mr Stevens] is enthusistic and responsive enough and they don’t think he is on board with the direction of travel.”