A GROUP of North-East academics, including the former chief medical officer, have praised the Government's health achievements, but cast doubt on whether they are sustainable.

Durham University's report is a commentary on Labour's health policy four years into the NHS Plan. The report questions whether Tony Blair's "high-risk" health strategy will deliver the outcomes promised in the NHS Plan of 2000.

The report's authors are Sir Kenneth Calman, vice-chancellor of Durham University and former chief medical officer for England, Professor David Hunter, professor of health policy and management, at the University of Durham, and independent researcher Annabelle May.

The report said: "Rapidly changing policies and alterations of agreed policies makes it, on occasion, impossible to see the way forward and properly manage the implementation of new developments.

"Rather than constantly creating and dismantling new organisations, the Government needs to align its current policies and structures... to shift the focus away from processes and management and towards outcomes and quality.

"Politicians have consistently underestimated the damaging loss of capacity in the NHS caused by constant reorganisations and appear to have ignored the very high transaction costs."

The report said the Government needed to show commitment to tackling health inequalities, as it has towards reducing waiting lists.