Health minister Lord Warner resigns
Lord Warner, the health minister with responsibility for NHS delivery, is to retire at the end of the year, Downing Street announced yesterday.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said it was a “personal decision” and the peer, who is 66, wanted to spend more time with his family.
He denied Lord Warner’s departure was anything to do with the progress of the £6.2 billion upgrade of the NHS IT system, which has been dogged with delays and concerns that it does not have the support of NHS staff.
In a statement, Lord Warner said: “After a busy and enjoyable three and half years as a Department of Health minister I have decided to stand down from government.
“It is entirely my decision and I will continue to strongly support the NHS reform agenda in the House of Lords and elsewhere.”
Tony Blair said he was “very sorry” to lose such an “outstanding minister” and said Lord Warner should be “justly proud” of his work in driving forward reforms of the health service.
Gill Morgan, head of the NHS Confederation which represents hospital managers, also praised the peer’s work, saying he would be seen as “one of the major architects of a 21st century NHS”.
She said Lord Warner had been a “steady hand at the tiller” since his appointment and managed some of the most challenging issues in a “highly professional and amiable way”. She added: “There is clear evidence that the NHS is turning a corner.
“There are still challenges ahead but with the new framework of pay contracts and an enabling IT system we believe that when people look back they will see Lord Warner as one of the major architects of a 21st century NHS.”
However, Liberal Democrat health spokesman John Pugh warned the peer’s departure came as the problems caused by NHS reforms got worse.
“Lord Warner has been the unelected spearhead in parliament of the Blairite NHS reforms and was consistently on message,” he said.
“With the massive NHS IT project struggling and hospitals financially destabilised, he will be relieved to step down before the problems start to multiply. The pilot may have been dropped but the ship is still heading for the rocks.”
