Dear Colleagues
Investment, Expansion and Reform has been published by the English Department of Health. It sets out targets for 9 key areas in health and social care and introduces three year plans.
The full report is available at http://www.doh.gov.uk/planning2003-2006/index.htm
Press Release below
Also available at
http://tap.ukwebhost.eds.com/doh/intpress.nsf/page/2002-0403?OpenDocument
David McDaid
LSE Health and Social Care
reference 2002/0403
Priorities and a new planning system for the NHS and social services are set out in a key document published today. Investment, Expansion and Reform sets out what health and social services will need to achieve in key delivery areas, and introduces a new system of three year planning and allocations. The change from an annual planning round will provide a more stable basis for the NHS and social services to deliver locally on national priorities in areas such as:
making measurable progress in areas such as waiting times, cancer and heart care, and patent choice
* expanding the NHS, increasing staffing, and providing more equipment and more services
* changing the way the system works, especially to make sure patients have gerater choice over services.
The national targets set out in the document have been streamlined to include only those targets which will be managed at a national level, with a commitment to avoid the introduction of new targets where possible. The planning system has also been simplified so that each local area need only submit a single three year plan.
While the national targets and planing system is designed to be robust and challenging, the combination of streamlining and the move from annual plans to three year ones will allow maximum local flexibility about how targets should be delivered.
The new system has been developed by a project board involving NHS Trusts, strategic health authorities, primary care trusts and local councils.
Welcoming the publication, NHS Chief Executive Nigel Crisp said:
"The extra money coming into both health and social services gives us the opportunity to make real improvements, We can expand by recruiting more staff, developing new services and creating new facilities.Even more importantly we can transform the quality of services by raising standards, tackling health inequalities, making the NHS more accessible and flexible, and designing our services around the needs and choices of patients.
"This is about both quality and growth. The real test for success will be whether people can feel the difference and believe the services they receive are truly designed around them.
"Developing these plans should itself involve the public, staff, service users and our partners. In every area our staff, the people using services and the public need to understand what we are doing, what progress is being made. They need to be able to advise and share in the drive for improvement and quality."
Specifically, Improvement, Expansion and Reformsets out nine key delivery area for the NHS and social services:
* waiting, booking and choice
* emergency care
* cancer
* coronary heart disease
* mental health
* older people
* life chances for vulnerable children
* patient experience and public accountability
* tackling health inequalities
The framework also identifies three underpinning strategies for the NHS:
* increasing physical capacity
* expanding the workforce
* improving information management and technology
Tackling drug misuse is set out as a cross-government priority, while reforming the system of patient care will provide an underpinning national programme for the next three years.
