So 24 hours after their publication what do we know about the government's plans for NHS? Surprisingly little that we didn't know before.
There was little more detail about GPs holding the purse strings in Equity and excellence: liberating the NHS than in The Coalition: our programme for government. There was however, a fair bit more about public health.
In many ways this is understandable, in scrapping primary care trusts you need to design something else, in this case a Public Health Service and more work for local authorities. Then there's a bit missing - a plan for public health is not due until the autumn, although Andrew Lansley has set out his vision.
The Forum has been a little concerned by plans to give GPs more public health responsibilities. As we've found, men's use of traditional primary care is poor and services need to reach those who tend to avoid seeking help until it is too late.
We are optimistic about the duties of the National Commissioning Board. But will it really deliver on tackling inequalities in access and outcomes? Where GPs need to act on these issues will they really have the scale to do so, even when they are formed into consortia?
On men's health there is a lot they can do but will they have the time and money to first look at what works or will they spend the budget the treasury has entrusted to them failing to re-invent the wheel before disappearing back to the safety of their practices?
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