When is abolishing NHS Direct not abolishing NHS Direct?

When it's just changing the phone number.

No, it's not very funny, is it? But then Andrew Lansley aspires to be seen more as a liberator than a stand-up comedian.

Lansley has replied to shadow health secretary and Labour leadership contender Andy Burnham, who wrote to Lansley accusing him of yesterday in the Commons misrepresenting Burnham's 2009 statement when Health Secretary.

BBC News seem to be first with this.

The DH statement says the following:

A Department of Health review of the National Programme for IT has concluded that a centralised, national approach is no longer required, and that a more locally-led plural system of procurement should operate, whilst continuing with national applications already procured.

Today’s Independent leaks Deputy PM Nick Clegg’s speech today to the Institute For Government, in which the Lib Dems’ romantic lead is to promise to give ministers “time to develop”.

Don’t you love reporting on the future? It’s like doing the horoscope.

Here we go - a new feature, the Wednesday What The Flugelhorn (WTF) Award. The WTF Award will henceforth grace HPI every Wednesday, apart from those when it doesn't.

This week's primii inter pares give us a joint winner - a splendid pair:

This story from The Independent on morning sickness cures, which apparently don't work, you'll be amazed to hear.

No, really.

The future of management in the NHS isn't what it used to be.

For many clinicians, this will be seen as a good thing. For many clinicians, managers are target-obsessed, financial-balance-driven surrender monkeys to the tin Gods of the SHA and the DH, or Monitor.

There remains a degree of mutual antipathy between 'the two cultures', best encapsulated by sad remarks from various parties that managers and clinicians are taught to hate one another in training. The truth is more nuanced than that, but in general not much more.

Irwin Brown of the Socialist Health Association looks at Transforming Community Services (a.k.a. Turkeys' Christmas Solidarity)

There is a deadline of April 2011 for all PCTs to have divested themselves of their provider functions. All or part of them can transfer to a foundation trust (FT) or to a local authority, on a short-term or permanent basis.

Sort of back to school now, so here are some thoughts about recent news bits.

Who spent what on management consultants – the gory detail
The Guardian’s Datablog carries this detailed breakdown of the Lansley-staggering £314 million NHS management consultancy spend in 2009-10 - and specifically of which NHS organisation spent what.

These data are useful and good to have, as far as they go.

The Social Market Foundation held an interesting event this morning, on 'shared decision-making in healthcare'.

That. Was. A. Bad. Journey. Back. From. Holiday.

I will have some thoughts to share about lessons I learnt from it about journeys and commissioning and sub-contractors; maybe tomorrow morning.

Anything I tried to write now would have far too much swearing, and would be prone to libel the living dirt out of various organisations.

Best not to, eh? Just yet.

Happy Friday.

Inverse Care Law proponent Julian Tudor Hart previews his new book in today's Guardian. Which also covers the new report from the Nuffield Trust about integrated care.

Both probably worth a read unless you're on A Journey.

One of which I'm about to set off myself, so see you soon.