Sir David Nicholson said he was determined to leave the NHS in a position of strength and independence The outgoing boss of the NHS in England has suggested he wants to "liberate" the NHS from political meddling in his final months in the job.Sir David Nicholson told the Health Service Journal he would soon be launching a strategy review that could have far-reaching implications.
He said the aim was to create a "long-lasting" vision of independence that would withstand the electoral cycle.
Sir David also criticised the way GPs were being "demonised".
Some will perceive that to be a veiled attack on Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
In a recent speech, Mr Hunt said the concept of the family doctor had been lost and that GPs needed to take more responsibility for out-of-hours care as it was one of the major factors in the problems being seen in A&E.
'Bad for patients'But Sir David, who last month announced he would be retiring in March, said "general practice" was "a cornerstone of the NHS" and internationally admired.
"I am a big fan of general practice and I think the way sometimes it is demonised is very bad, and very bad for patients," he said.
However, he did concede there was still a need for some modernisation in the sector and that the NHS needed to "think very carefully" about out-of-hours care.
Sir David made it clear in the interview he was determined to leave the NHS in a position of strength and independence.
He told the HSJ he would not be "reaching for my pipe and slippers" in his remaining months in the post.
He said NHS England's strategy would seek to "liberate" the service to "experiment" with a range of solutions to challenges faced by the health service.
Sir David said the organisation - which is responsible for the day-to-day running of the health service - will publish a "case for change" in the coming weeks then lead a national discussion with the public on a three-to-five year NHS service strategy.
This is likely to question the extent to which competition is used as Sir David questioned whether bodies providing care, such as NHS trusts, should have to compete for patients all the time.
He said the aim was to "create something which is long-lasting and not something which will shift every time you have either a new executive director or even a new government".
'Buck stops with me'Publication of the interview comes as Sir David prepares to give a speech to a conference of health service managers on Thursday afternoon.
The NHS Confederation event has also heard from Mr Hunt.
He said the government was trying to relieve the pressure on the NHS, particularly on A&E units - and repeated his concerns over the "loss" of the concept of "family doctoring".
Mr Hunt said this was something he would be looking to rectify later this year when plans will be announced to give the most vulnerable patients a named health professional to look after them when they are discharged from hospital in an attempt to stop them being readmitted.
He did not address the HSJ interview in his speech, but later he told the BBC while he understood what Sir David was doing, and that it was right NHS England had independence, ultimately the "buck stops with me".
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