NHS on life support
Peter Hoskin 6:31pm
Earlier, Fraser mentioned the work of the think-tank Reform, and today that same group released an insightful - and scathing - report on the state of the NHS. Download it, read it, and internalise it, as it should set the healthcare agenda for the momentous year ahead.The report's key message is that the Government is talking the talk on beneficial NHS reform, but not walking the walk. This floundering situation is all the more worrying as we're about to enter healthcare's equivalent of a "perfect storm" - during which demographic, lifestyle and technological changes will place an unprecedented level of stress on the already-creaky health system.
The answer isn't the new charter that we've been lead to expect from the Government, nor is it Brown's faux-Blairism. Instead, Reform outline an economic constitution; a set of principles by which a well-managed, less-costly and customer-orientated healthcare system could be formed. Here are their guidelines in full:
• "More power to customers. The constitution should be based on informed choice of both commissioner and provider. This would be a major advance due to the introduction of choice for non-consultant-led services. It should also increase the use of direct payments."• "Stronger independent commissioning. There should be clear and distinct separation of roles at all levels."
• "Provider pluralism. The economic constitution would set out the priority of developing a variety of providers. A viable market can only develop where the NHS accepts that its own capacity is going to reduce over time in order to allow a market to develop. The biases against a genuine level playing field, in particular subsided public pensions, must be eliminated."
• "Flexible labour markets. The inability of central agencies to plan manpower, salaries and training make these a priority."
• "A clear success and failure regime, on the model of the private sector."
• "Flexible prices determined by quality and cost."
• "Separation of central regulatory and political/strategic responsibilities."
P.S. Two of the report's co-authors have written an article for Conservative Home.
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Mike A
February 11th, 2008 6:50pm Report this commentReform are notoriously innumerate.
Their last health pamphlet compounded inflation indices by adding them up rather than multiplying them through, they released a pamphlet claiming all of Estonia's post -1990 growth was due to flat taxes and they released a paper claiming that Nottingham had the highest crime in the universe ever. It turns out that they divided Nottinghamshire's crimes by Nottingham's population.
They are the weakest think-tank in the UK.
So...
Who did you work for before, Peter?
barry monk
February 11th, 2008 8:16pm Report this commentIf you think things are bad in the NHS, they are even worse than that. Keep reading www.vote4barry.blogspot.com
Baltic boy
February 11th, 2008 9:42pm Report this commentMike A. It's funny you should mention Estonia. This is a country with an MRSA rate fifty times lower than the UK's, according to the European Antimicrobial Resistance Survey, and the most efficient healthcare system of all European Countries according to the European Consumer Index, which hails Estonia as a major success story in the way it has transformed its healthcare system from a clapped out centralised Soviet system (a bit like the NHS) to a Bismarkian National Insurance funded system based on the German model. In the European Consumer Index, by the way, Estonia was ranked 12th in Europe (The Scandinavian countries, France and Germany were in the top 5) and the UK was....wait for it....18th. Game, set and match....Estonia!!
Mike A
February 12th, 2008 12:00am Report this commentEr... thanks, Baltic Boy.
But I wouldn't use a Reform report as a coaster.
Andrew Haldenby
February 12th, 2008 10:41am Report this commentDear Mike A Do come round whenever you like to discuss our methodology! I hope we can convince you that our reports are worthy as coasters at least. Best wishes Andrew Haldenby
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