Seeing through patients' eyes Independent report into NHS UK

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 18 May 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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The NHS (National Health Service of the UK) is experiencing genuine improvement, according to an assessment by health professionals and patient representatives who today call for more effort to put patients first.

The annual report of the NHS Modernisation Board - entitled Caring in Many Ways - says that across the NHS there are now different and better services than four years ago, as a result of changes in attitude and culture since the introduction of the NHS Plan.

This is reflected in many parts of the NHS, with improvements not only in the numbers of people waiting, but also the accessibility of services, the extent of new facilities, and the development of new ways of working.

However the Modernisation Board says there is still much more to do before these changes are experienced by everyone across the country.

Their report says the NHS now faces a tough challenge to build on the momentum by putting patients at the centre of care, and providing more convenient, responsive and local services. This will mean a shift in emphasis towards treating patients in the community rather than in hospital, helping people manage chronic diseases and long-term conditions at home, and encouraging everyone to embrace a healthy lifestyle.

Members of the Modernisation Board have spent the last 12 months looking at services through the eyes of patients to see whether the investment put in by the government was making a difference.

On their behalf Dr Jenny Simpson, of the British Association of Medical Managers, said:

"Significant and sustained improvement is clearly underway in the NHS, as the Chief Executive's Report demonstrated last week.

Patient surveys indicate high levels of satisfaction with services even though the public in general continue to be sceptical.

"Our task was to look behind those statistics to find out for ourselves whether services feel different and whether the cultural transformation required to put the patient at the heart of those changes is really taking hold. We found encouraging evidence reflecting that shift in the approach to care.

"There is, however, a long way to go before everyone, everywhere, is receiving the kind of treatment we would want for our families and ourselves. The improvements we have witnessed in hospitals and in traditional primary care settings are transforming the NHS, but the next step we want to see will be a further shift in the provision of services outside hospitals so patients and the public are able to access care more conveniently and locally."

Welcoming the report, Health Secretary John Reid said:

"I asked the Modernisation Board to examine the NHS through patients' eyes, witnessing how they experience care, treatment and support at first hand.

"The Board's report shows that throughout the NHS there are dramatically different and better services compared to four years ago when the NHS Plan was launched.

"It shows that the patient-centred NHS is drawing visibly closer. However, I know there is more to be done to ensure that the changes identified in the Board's report are felt by all people, wherever and whenever they access our health system."

Notes to editor 1. The NHS Modernisation Board's 2004 report covers the period March 2003 to March 2004.

2. The NHS Modernisation Board was set up to advise the Secretary of State for Health and his ministerial team on implementing the NHS Plan. It is a group of senior health and social care professionals, front-line staff, managers and patient representatives who meet with the Secretary of State every three months to discuss progress and guide priorities. This is the first time an independent group representing the many different interests involved in health and social services has had an influence over health policy and its implementation.

Published: Tuesday 18 May 2004Reference number: 2004/0200

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