Professor Stephenson’s perspective on the NHS reforms¹ is a welcome stimulus for debate about the future of children’s health services in the UK. The article touches upon waiting lists for children, the tariff system and the “shifting care closer to home” agenda.

If viewed dispassionately, the NHS reforms make perfect sense. Practice-based commissioning² should allow primary care to use knowledge about the needs of local populations to commission appropriate specialist services. Patient choice is built into the …