Andrew Lansley 'pauses' progress of NHS reform bill: Miliband speech

Andrew Lansley 'pauses' progress of NHS reform bill: Miliband speech; - Labour’s response was to meet this challenge head on. The Wanless review led to the refinancing of healthcare through the increase in National Insurance and substantial increases in investment. The NHS plan in 2000 took decisive action to challenge the legacy of long waiting times and improve the focus on patients. All were aimed at the central challenges of getting patients acces s to treatment they had previously struggled to get. Second, changes worked best where they strengthened accountability. In the 1990s, the government was embarrassed about the state of the NHS. But the citizen had no set of standards to call upon. People were abandoned for hours on hospital trolleys, while others sat for an entire night in A&E, and some were asked to wait for weeks for a GP appointment. This was partly about investment but not only about it. The NHS today is more accountable to patients at every level. That was the goal of reforms like targets and later waiting time guarantees, which created clear rights for patients. It was the goal behind the introduction of greater choice of hospital and appointment, as well as personal budgets for those with chronic diseases which gave patients greater flexibility in how they received their care. Although we shouldn’t pretend choice is the only thing people c are about in their NHS, it can make a real difference for those frustrated with the system or those looking to have some flexibility in their own arrangements for care. And greater accountability was the goal behind Foundation Trusts and Payment by Results, making NHS management responsible for its performance. So, accountability was strengthened. But that doesn’t mean every reform worked. Some reforms were badly executed. The GP contract changes, for example, failed precisely because they reduced, rather than enhanced, the accountability of GPs to their patients for evening and weeke...