Quangos – short for quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation – are seen by many, including the current administration, as a waste of money. Consequently the government, keen to make savings, has abolished many of them, putting many thousands of public sector workers out of a job. Half of these bodies in the department of health have gone, as confirmed by the minister concerned, Andrew Lansley. Doctors and nurses' groups have criticised the decision to axe organisations like the Health Protection Agency.
