Public Health, Redesign Of Services And Social Care The Key Tasks For Whoever Wins The General Election, Says NHS Confederation Report

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 15 Mar 2010 - 3:00 PDT

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The study, Rising to the challenge: health priorities for the Government and the NHS looks at the scale of the task facing a new administration after this year's General Election.

It argues that the demands of a spending squeeze combined with lifestyle factors, the UK's aging population and the increasing cost of healthcare mean the NHS is facing one of the most difficult moments in its history.

And the Confederation, which represent more than 95% of the organisations which make up the NHS, has called today on whoever wins the next election to acknowledge the size of the challenge and be honest about the tough decisions that will be needed.

Steve Barnett, the chief executive of the Confederation, said a frank debate during the forthcoming General Election along with cross party co-operation afterwards, was essential if the NHS was to deal with the coming years.

"It is crucial that we have an honest debate about where the NHS is headed in the next five to ten years and that politicians, as well as managers, doctors and staff, are frank with the public about how significant the problems we face are," he said.

"We have specific problems in public health with issues like drinking, smoking and obesity, which need action across Government and society. We also face real challenges in providing better care for elderly people - which needs a coherent policy for social care - and some tough decisions to make about how and where we provide healthcare services.

"The NHS has to play its part in rising to these challenges and should not be looking to Government for all the answers - both clinicians and managers need to focus, amongst other things, on rooting out inefficiencies in the system, reducing costs and redesigning services.

"Political leadership is required in continuing to build on the reform programme, including the use of competition and new providers where appropriate; dealing with major challenges such as integration of health and social care; and aligning national public health initiatives with local campaigns and activity.

"Coming to conclusions about these of challenges will be one of the defining tasks of the next Government, regardless of who forms it."

The Confederation's report says reform of the way the NHS does things needs to continue but also calls for health organisations to be given the freedom and flexibility to find their own solutions, it says: 'We need much more tolerance of different approaches, structures, systems and methods to allow for adaptation to local circumstances.

It also observes: "In the past, the NHS has suffered from an over-abundance of initiatives. In these times of austerity, policymakers may not be able to create new initiatives quiet as easily and must resist the temptation to do so.

Source
NHS Confederation

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