Top surgeon Lord Darzi has resigned from his position as parliamentary under-secretary for the Department of Health. One of several nonpolitical figures brought into Gordon Brown’s Government, he led a major review of the NHS last year.
His departure has prompted intense media debate over the reasons behind his resignation and some reports have suggested that the squeeze on public spending would have made implementing his agenda more difficult. In his resignation letter to the Prime Minister, published in The Telegraph, he said: “During my time as a Minister, I have maintained my clinical practice and research. The time has now come for me to return to care for my patients, lead my academic department, and continue my research full time.” He has agreed to retain an advisory capacity to the Government, however, and will assume a new role as Health and Life Sciences Ambassador. Commenting on his resignation from Government, King’s Fund’s chief executive Niall Dickson said: “Lord Darzi has made a huge contribution in his relatively short period of time in Government. His legacy will be to have put the quality of care patients receive centre stage – and to have reinforced the need to involve doctors, nurses and other professionals in the reform process. “It is too early to say whether Lord Darzi will have made the difference he wanted and there is still much to do to turn his vision into reality throughout the health service. But there is no doubt that the number one priority for the NHS from now on will be improving quality of care, while delivering greater value for money. Lord Darzi’s personal commitment has been crucial in driving this forward.”
