DH accused of not understanding councils’ needs

Most local government heads feel the Department of Health does
not understand councils’ needs, according to a DH stakeholder
survey released on Friday, writes Mithran
Samuel.

Almost two-thirds of council senior managers polled said the DH
did not understand their organisation’s needs or interests,
compared to less than half of all stakeholders.

The results support the widespread view that the needs of social
care are marginalised within the DH and raise concerns over how it
will fare in the forthcoming white paper on health and social
care.

The poll of 300 people was published to coincide with the launch
of a series of public consultation events on the white paper.

Research from www.dh.gov.uk.