Letter

Haz to be better?

Dear healthmatters — Your editorial on Health Action Zones was unnecessarily critical of an idea which may have real benefits in energizing local services, redistributing resources away from ‘cash guzzler’ centres of excellence and boosting equity in health care. HAZs could bring together powerful, synergistic players, not just the usual suspects from trusts and local authorities.

Accountability is an important issue, of course, but is it more important than creativity and innovation? How can we expect a population that has been excluded from decision-making in public services suddenly to champion local democracy and promote change, against vested interests in big institutions? It won’t happen. Health Action Zones offer us a chance to break the log jam of conservatism and put public health care onto a 21st century footing.