Professor Alan Maynard scours the horizon for plausible post-2015 scenarios for the NHS

The Con-Dem coalition government is made of competing factions, driven by different ideologies. As in other governments, political and economic events lead to particular factions getting their hands on policy reform.

The current dominant political faction appears to have adopted some poorly-designed reforms that beg more questions than they answer. They may regret their choices.

Professor Alan Maynard ventures into the anthropomorphic, assessing the porcine nutrition issues arising from the latest NHS redisorganisation

The American economist Uwe Reinhardt has likened a healthcare system to a sow, with beneficiaries of her milk competing for suckling rights. In the NHS, the ‘milk’ level exceeds £100 billion. Accordingly, the ‘piglets’ are bodies such as the pharmaceutical industry, hospitals and general practitioners.