New UK proposals for patients to shape local services

Citation

(2002), "New UK proposals for patients to shape local services", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 15 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2002.06215aab.011

New UK proposals for patients to shape local services

New UK proposals for patients to shape local services

In September, a new report, Involving Patients and the Public in Healthcare, outlined proposals for patients and the public to play a greater role in shaping local NHS services. The proposals outline plans for:

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  a new national body called Voice – the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health;

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  Patients' Forums for every NHS trusts and Primary Care Trust to inspect NHS services, including casualty watch checks, and ensure that patients concerns are dealt with rapidly and to everyone's satisfaction;

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  local bodies that will report patients' concerns from PALs and Forums to the new Strategic Health Authorities and facilitate public involvement in the NHS.

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  The introduction of patient surveys so that trusts can act on patients' views about their services. The results of these will be published locally in annual patient prospectuses.

Commenting on the proposals, Health Minister Hazel Blears said:

The patient must be at the centre of everything the NHS does. We want to move away from an outdated system towards a new model where the voices of patients, their carers and the public are heard at every level of the service, acting as a powerful lever for change and improvement in the NHS.

The new system will build on the good work being undertaken by many community health councils (CHCs) across the country and will ensure that this work is spread across the whole of the service, providing a fairer, consistent voice for NHS patients.

Tony Tester, Chairman of the Society of CHC staff said:

As Chairman of the Society of CHC Staff, I view with interest the proposals being brought forward, as part of Shifting the Balance of Power, for CHCs. It is reassuring that the expertise built up over a long period of time by CHC staff will not be lost to the NHS. I look forward to the Society taking an active part in this process.

Alongside this document, the Government is launching Reforming the NHS’Complaints Procedure, which suggests ways to improve the current NHS Complaints procedure for patients.

Further information: Both reports are available on the Internet. Involving Patients and the Public in Healthcare is available at www.doh.gov.uk/involvingpatients and Reforming the NHS Complaints Procedure is available at www.doh.gov.uk/nhscomplaintsreform