”We’re kicking the can down the road” - how to get agreement on the future of the NHS

Our latest debate asks whether there should be a Royal Commission (a high level enquiry, with statutory powers) into the future of the NHS. A high level inquiry could detoxify the radical changes needed and command wide support, say Maurice Saatchi, conservative peer, and Paul Buchanan, The BMJ's patient editor; but Nigel Crisp, independent peer, thinks that a less formal, more flexible and collaborative approach could be quicker. Read the debate: http://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j1621