NHS improving—but could still do better, admits health secretary
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《英国医生杂志》
The overall performance of the NHS has improved substantially, says the NHS chief executive, Nigel Crisp.
But the health secretary, John Reid, accepts there is still room for improvement: "Progress is being made fast and visibly, but we have still a long way to go," he said.
Mr Crisp抯 annual report, published last week, covers the period from March 2003 to March 2004. The chief executive said that the number of people waiting more than six months for inpatient treatment had fallen by just under 60%, from 189 054 to 77 587.
Also, according to the report, there were 364 000 more operations, 32.7 million more prescriptions dispensed in the community, and 59 000 more staff, including doctors, nurses, and other frontline staff, than last year.
"Many more treatments are now being provided outside hospitals, more quickly and more conveniently for patients," said Mr Crisp. "Services are being redesigned to be more efficient and effective, with staff taking on new roles and responsibilities. Patients are beginning to be offered more choice and more influence over their services."
According to the report, overall NHS spending amounted to ?3.7bn ($114bn; �96bn), an increase of ?.9bn—or 7.3% in real terms—over 2002-3.
Mr Crisp said that progress did not end here: "We haven抰 cracked it yet. There is clearly much more to do to ensure the NHS is as good as we want it to be in every area. Our challenge is to continue to listen to patients, and involve the public wherever possible, if we are to truly aspire to the vision outlined in the NHS plan."
Commenting on the report, the King抯 Fund抯 chief economist, John Appleby, said: "The report shows the NHS has been successful in reducing waiting times, but it has to keep its eye on the ball if these reductions can be sustained.
"However, the 6% increase in emergency admissions is worrying and is partly the result of efforts to meet the government抯 four hour maximum waiting time target for accident and emergency.
"This once again raises the question as to whether the extra money being pumped into the NHS is reaching the front line and making a difference to patients?health. This is hard to gauge as the NHS measures activity (patients treated and operations carried out) rather than the most important outcome, health. More money is going into the NHS, but we don抰 know if the quality of care is improving.
"Measuring patients?overall health on a regular basis means we would then have a better idea of determining how productive the NHS is becoming for all the extra money going in to the system."(BMJ Tiago Villanueva)
But the health secretary, John Reid, accepts there is still room for improvement: "Progress is being made fast and visibly, but we have still a long way to go," he said.
Mr Crisp抯 annual report, published last week, covers the period from March 2003 to March 2004. The chief executive said that the number of people waiting more than six months for inpatient treatment had fallen by just under 60%, from 189 054 to 77 587.
Also, according to the report, there were 364 000 more operations, 32.7 million more prescriptions dispensed in the community, and 59 000 more staff, including doctors, nurses, and other frontline staff, than last year.
"Many more treatments are now being provided outside hospitals, more quickly and more conveniently for patients," said Mr Crisp. "Services are being redesigned to be more efficient and effective, with staff taking on new roles and responsibilities. Patients are beginning to be offered more choice and more influence over their services."
According to the report, overall NHS spending amounted to ?3.7bn ($114bn; �96bn), an increase of ?.9bn—or 7.3% in real terms—over 2002-3.
Mr Crisp said that progress did not end here: "We haven抰 cracked it yet. There is clearly much more to do to ensure the NHS is as good as we want it to be in every area. Our challenge is to continue to listen to patients, and involve the public wherever possible, if we are to truly aspire to the vision outlined in the NHS plan."
Commenting on the report, the King抯 Fund抯 chief economist, John Appleby, said: "The report shows the NHS has been successful in reducing waiting times, but it has to keep its eye on the ball if these reductions can be sustained.
"However, the 6% increase in emergency admissions is worrying and is partly the result of efforts to meet the government抯 four hour maximum waiting time target for accident and emergency.
"This once again raises the question as to whether the extra money being pumped into the NHS is reaching the front line and making a difference to patients?health. This is hard to gauge as the NHS measures activity (patients treated and operations carried out) rather than the most important outcome, health. More money is going into the NHS, but we don抰 know if the quality of care is improving.
"Measuring patients?overall health on a regular basis means we would then have a better idea of determining how productive the NHS is becoming for all the extra money going in to the system."(BMJ Tiago Villanueva)