Sunday, January 21, 2007

Tories aim to scrap NHS targets

David Cameron is to announce plans to scrap many of the government's health targets including those on waiting times, the BBC has learned.
The Tory leader is to unveil the first details of his health policy on Monday.

He will outline plans to set new objectives to measure the effectiveness of treatments and the health of patients afterwards.

He also wants to give doctors greater responsibility for their own budgets and priorities.

'Health results'

The Conservatives say the problem with many of the government's targets is that they simply measure whether patients are treated quickly enough.

They want to set new objectives on survival or recovery rates for serious illnesses.

Former Health Secretary Stephen Dorrell, who heads the group which helped draw up the policy, said patients would benefit from the new targets.

"We have endless forms about process and insufficient focus on the health results that the NHS exists to deliver and it is that focus that we are seeking to shift away from process towards health outcomes," he said.

Dr Hamish Meldrum of the British Medical Association's GPs committee said he would welcome measures to assess how well patients are treated but added he wanted to know more about how the Conservative policy would work.

 STILL WON'T STOP THE PRIVATISATION OF THE NHS.....................
IT WOULD BE NO DIFFERENT IF RUN BY THE TORIES, JUST CHEAPER AS THE STATISTIC'S STAFF WOULD NO LONGER BE EMPLOYED....................
A SPRAT TO CATCH A MACKERAL...........DON'T BE TAKEN IN BY EITHER OF THE 2 BIG POLITICAL PARTIES AS THEY HAVE A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO THE SAME CARVE UP OF THE NHS