| Posted by Adapt (adapt) on Jun 09 2010 |
Andrew Lansley, gave his first speech on health policy to packed meeting of LINks and voluntary sector organisation in the Bromley by Bow Health Centre in east London. The event was put on jointly by the DH, National Voices and the Patients' Association. I attended on behalf of NALM.
He gave a commitment to an NHS free at the point of use and highlighted shared decision-making between patient and clinical staff and putting the patient at the centre of health care. He said that power needed to move from the institutions and the DH the people so that patients and doctors had real power in everything that is done in the NHS.
LINks will be merged with national Healthwatch, so there is contact between the national and local but the model is not yet developed. There will be no structural upheaval as he recognises that constant change is harmful.
AL said that action would be taken to reduce the number of emergency readmissions and that following treatment the hospital would maintain responsibility for the patient for a further 30 days. He said this was about making the NHS more outcome focussed. His priorities are to:
• make a cultural shift from a culture responsive to orders from the top, to one responsive to patients, in which patient safety is put first.
• devolve power through meaningful information to patients. Patient experience will drive up standards, as the data will influence patient choice.
• engage people in their care, “no decision about me, without me”, and give patients the opportunity to provide feedback in real time, reflecting the experience of their care.
• embrace leadership by setting NHS professionals free from a targets without meaning to one focussed on the quality, innovation, productivity and safety required to improve patient outcomes.
• adopt a holistic approach by looking at the entire patient pathway from preventative health and well-being measures, through to hospital and community care.
• introduce payments which encapsulate a more integrated care pathway by giving hospitals responsibility for a patient’s care for 30 days after they are discharged.
• Local authorities and PCTs will have to work together
The SoS will end the previous government's bureaucratic approach and perpetual interference and end top-down process targets. The NHS must be responsive to patients and patient safety a top priority. Patients must be in the driving seat, informed and engaged.
Last changed: Jun 09 2010 at 11:23 PM
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