Dear All
The Health Minister for England has just published a report on progress on implementation of the White Paper published in January 2006. For those of you less up to speed with parachial affairs in England three of the main goals sewt out in the White Paper were better prevention and early intervention for improved health; more choice and empowerment for communities and individuals and further moves to tackle inequalities in access to health services.
This update sets out the next stages and includes a road map to implementation and is a resource to support key actions for local implementation.
The report follows the announcement this week of 30 care closer to home pilot sites across the country to assess how teams of consultants, GPs and nurses can safely and effectively provide minor operations and diagnostic tests in urology, ear, nose and throat, dermatology, orthopaedics, gynaecology and general surgery closer to patients' homes. These pilots are part of a key commitment in the white paper to shift care out of hospitals.
Today Junior Health Minister in England Rosie Winterton announced that people with long term conditions or social care needs will receive "information prescriptions", which will tell them how to find out more about their condition. This commitment was also set out in the white paper and by 2008 it is expected that everyone with a long-term condition will routinely receive information about how to deal with their condition and where to go for support.
The full press release can be read at
http://www.gnn.gov.uk/environment/fullDetail.asp?ReleaseID=235230&NewsAreaID=2&NavigatedFromDepartment=False
The report can be accessed at
http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/14/00/65/04140065.pdf
Best wishes
David McDaid
LSE Health and Social Care
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