Summary
The Government proposes to put patients at the heart of the National Health Service (NHS) in a radical restructure of the current service, as discussed in ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’ (Cm. 7881).
The public will have greater choice and control over how healthcare services are coordinated through a blend of Conservative and Liberal Democrat ideas to improve patient experience and outcomes.
In the coalition’s core beliefs of freedom, fairness and responsibility, the restructure of the NHS aims to reduce bureaucracy and top-down control by focusing spending on increased patient and clinical involvement.
A new consumer champion, HealthWatch England, will strengthen the collective voice of patients and carers through initiatives managed by local authorities.
Power and responsibility for commissioning services will be devolved to GPs and their practice teams working in consortia, whilst local authorities will promote the joining up of local NHS services, social care and health improvement.
The improved NHS service will focus on outcomes and the quality standards that deliver them:
- reducing mortality and morbidity;
- increasing safety; and
- improving patient experience and outcomes.
The NHS will need to achieve £20 billion of efficiency savings by 2014, NHS management costs will be reduced by more than 45% over four years, and the number of NHS bodies will be simplified and delayered.
This is a long-term plan that is intended to give the NHS a coherent, stable and enduring framework for quality and service improvement.
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