EQUITY AND EXCELLENCE - NHS

Equity and Excellence: Liberating NHS that they will cut the NHS management cost 45% in 4 years

Equity and Excellence: Liberating NHS that they will cut the NHS management cost 45% in 4 years

Introduction

In July 2010, the UK's new coalition government published a White Paper laying out its plans to 'liberate' the English NHS. If fully implemented the policies could lead to profound changes in the roles of central and local government in relation to the NHS, in the relationships between patients and healthcare professionals and nature and landscape of health service provision in England. One of the most prominent and widely discussed features of the proposed reforms is the plan to transfer responsibility for commissioning NHS services from the 151 primary care trusts (PCTs) currently performing that role to a new national Commissioning Board and a set of local general practice (GP)- led commissioning consortia. At the time, of writing full details of the recent commissioning system is yet to be laid out. But if the legislation passed and the policy implemented as the government intends it will be operational by 2012 and PCTs abolished from April 2013. Combined with the planned transfer of public health responsibilities from the NHS to local government and the creation of a more open and diverse market of healthcare providers, these changes will alter the culture and structure of the NHS in very significant ways. And yet although the announcement of this radical reform of commissioning signals an end to the existing regime, it also evokes a distinct sense of familiarity and continuity. (Mahon, 2003, 74)

There will, for example, be opportunities for nursing and residential care services to work more closely with new GP commissioners and councils in helping to shape the adult social care market. In other areas, reform may be too much too soon, at a time when efficiency savings need to be made within existing structures and a much reduced financial envelope. The scale of the demographic pressures facing the country means that the need for residential services will grow. It is more important than ever that nursing and residential services remain a positive choice for people using services alongside support for people at home. (Ian, 2007, 15)A restructured UK health service

The impending restructuring of the NHS will take away the ring fenced health professional role when approaching the rehabilitation of patients with long-term conditions. The UK Secretary of State for Health has made it clear that 'any willing provider' allowed pitching for services in this area, an area traditionally the undisputed realm of health professionals. UK health professionals subjected to competition where we did not have any before. For example, suitably qualified exercise professionals will be able to compete for the provision of health promotion initiatives in special population groups, such as children with obesity, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, and post-injury rehabilitation. It is possible to see this as a threat which needs to be blocked, and indeed professional bodies have responded to the white paper Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS with ...