A SCOTTISH Labour MP and former minister has been branded an “idiot” after saying he would sack half of the NHS managers he’d met “in a heartbeat”.
Zubir Ahmed, the MP for Glasgow South West and an NHS surgeon, entered into a row with Alastair McLellan, editor of the Health Service Journal (HSJ), calling him a “shock jock”.
McLellan shared an article online about the former health minister, who resigned from his position earlier this year, and said: “The former minister and surgeon [Zubir Ahmed] had shared his views on NHS managers with me privately.
“Good to see that he has now decided to out himself as an idiot.”
Ahmed hit back and doubled down on the comments saying there was a “quality issue” and claimed “most managers are ill equipped to deliver the change management we need”.
He said: “Sad you've transitioned from a journalist to a shock jock Alastair. I agree the NHS is undermanaged. My contention is we first and foremost have a quality issue.
“Currently most managers are ill equipped to deliver the change management we need. What part of that do you disagree with?”
McLellan said that he disagreed with Ahmed’s comments about sacking NHS managers, adding: “If you were interested in a sensible, evidence-based debate you wouldn't spout such populist nonsense. [Apologise] for that and we can talk.”
The former minister retorted that the HSJ was not taken seriously in Westminster, saying: “What self inflation of your own importance.
“I now realise why you are treated with such insignificance in most govt circles. You serve no one well but yourself.”
Ahmed was a member of Keir Starmer’s government when it was announced that NHS England would be abolished.
That move has been criticised, with the Institute for Government think tank saying: “We have been critical of the way that the government handled the announcement of the abolition.
“Without re-treading too much ground, the Government struggled to provide a coherent vision for what it was supposed to achieve, and left staff uncertain of their futures, among other problems. One senior civil servant working in the department described the ongoing process to us as ‘utter chaos’.”
