Downing Street Says » NHS reform

Put that the phrase real terms increase’ was not in the briefing given out on the Prime Minister’s speech and did it still apply, the PMS said that this pledge was in the Coalition Agreement and was still there. On whether waiting times would be measured and what did the Prime Minister mean when he said that waiting times would be kept low’, the PMS replied that we were conducting the listening exercise at the moment, but the reforms were intended to improve patient care and the efficiency of the health service.

The PMS said that one of the things patients cared a lot about was the amount of time they had to wait before they got treatment and we wanted to see an NHS which was responsive to patients and therefore responded to their desire to be treated quickly. When it came to measuring that, there were statistics that were published on a regular basis by the Department of Health, showing precisely what those waiting times were.

Asked if the Government would define what low’ was in terms of waiting times, the PMS replied that the Government’s approach was to publish the information and the people who would judge this were the people who used the health service. Put that the Government would not be setting a figure for low’, the PMS said that there had been a general move away from setting targets because of a concern that those targets could distort behaviour and lead to the wrong outcome.

The PMS said that it was very important that there was transparency and for the Government to supply that information to people, so that they could see what was happening in the NHS and which providers were providing good quality healthcare quickly and efficiently.

Asked if the Prime Minister was frustrated by polling that suggested that the public seemed to realise the need for reform but did not trust the Conservatives, the PMS replied that the Prime Minister had been clear that we needed to do more to explain the case for reform and the reforms themselves to people, be that the general public or people who worked in the health service.

Asked if the Prime Minster was concerned that the public would automatically not trust any reform of the NHS, the PMS said that that was part of the reason fro conducting the listening exercise; we recognised that there needed to be a bigger debate about the reforms.

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» Tuesday, June 7, 2011

NHS reform

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