'Darzi' Could Herald New Chapter For NHS, Says Unite, UK

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 02 Jul 2008 - 6:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

The government's 10-year blueprint for the health service announced could open a new positive chapter on the eve of the NHS's 60th birthday.

Unite, the UK's biggest trade union, welcomed the broad thrust of health minister Lord Darzi's review, hailed by the Prime Minister as 'a once-in-a generation opportunity'.

Unite National Officer for Heath, Karen Reay said: 'We welcome the general tenor of Lord Darzi's report that the future emphasis should be on the whole patient/client experience in the NHS - from the quality of the consultants' care to the standard of the food - rather than the crude managerial targets of recent times.'

'We look forward to working together with government and NHS employers to make this strategy a living and vibrant reality for hundreds of thousands of patients and clients that use the NHS on a daily basis.'

'We have a commitment for the first time that there will be measurements of the quality of peoples' experience in the NHS; that the concept of transparency in decision-making for patients' treatment will be paramount; and that collective accountability, where teams are shown to be delivering quality services, are to the fore.'

'The new constitution for the NHS, which is out for three months consultation, is a milestone, reinforcing the patients' rights to dignity, privacy and confidentiality. The constitution will also embrace staff, enshrining respect and dignity for them in the workplace.'

'We welcome the extra responsibility that staff will be given to run their own social enterprise organisations. We would like to see such organisations firmly under the NHS umbrella and the conditions of staff, particularly in relation to their pension arrangements, fully protected.'

'One of the key factors in making the Darzi proposals work will be the need for fully funded comprehensive training programmes for all staff. We have sought assurances that training will be a high priority in the future.'

Notes

Unite NHS Day of Protest - 18 July - Cut our pay - No way!

Unite members across the country will take part in day of protest against the NHS pay offer on the 18 July, 2008. Workers will be campaigning around the slogan:
'Cut my pay? No way!'

For more information visit: http://www.unitetheunion.com/nhsdayofprotest

Unite/CPHVA press releases can be seen on the CPHVA website: http://www.unitetheunion.com/cphva

Unite (Amicus section) is the third largest union in the NHS. It has seven professional sections: the Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association, the Mental Health Nurses Association, the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists, the Society of Sexual Health Advisers, the Medical Practitioners' Union, College of Healthcare Chaplains, and the Hospital Physicists Association.

Unite was formed by an amalgamation of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union in May 2007.

http://www.unitetheunion.com