In Sickness And In Health: Mending A "Fragmented" NHS

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 11 Apr 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Patients who are normally fit but need treatment for a serious, acute illness have never been better served by the NHS than they are today.

But for those with long term conditions, there is no fast technological fix. They need an NHS where care is properly integrated between hospitals, GPs and community services, and the focus is on prevention, personalised care and the whole person rather than on a set of symptoms.

The NHS Alliance has put forward new proposals, intended to inform the NHS review currently being carried out by Health Minister Lord Darzi, and already supported by leading doctors. Their report, In sickness and in health, says that health care, particularly for those with long term and multiple conditions, can be disjointed and fragmented. It recommends that:

- GPs should reclaim responsibility for round-the-clock care for their patients. That does not necessarily mean doing it themselves, but it does mean they should be responsible for selecting and commissioning out of hours providers.

- Specialist consultants, GPs and other clinicians should be able to work together in Integrated Care Organisations, that might be based around large GP surgeries, community hospitals, new Polyclinics or collaborative groups. These would allow care to be shaped around the patient rather than around buildings and organisational structures. The principles are more important than bricks and mortar.

- A new type of doctor is needed: the Community Specialist Consultant, equivalent to a hospital consultant but with the breadth of expertise and training needed to work effectively outside hospital.

NHS Alliance