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Tories pledge 'independent NHS' | Tories pledge 'independent NHS' |
(about 8 hours later) | |
The Tories have pledged to hand day-to-day control of the NHS in England to an independent board, part of efforts to make it more autonomous. | |
Members would be chosen by the health secretary and would be accountable to ministers, the party says. | |
They would commission services while centralised targets, such as those on waiting lists, would be abolished. | |
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has ruled out a similar plan, saying the NHS was too vast to be run by a board. | Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has ruled out a similar plan, saying the NHS was too vast to be run by a board. |
The proposals set out on Wednesday form the party's first detailed and concrete policy pledge on public services. | |
Health watchdogs | Health watchdogs |
It is expected to be the first of several policy pledges announced over the next few weeks. | |
The Conservatives believe the NHS should have more autonomy but should also be made more accountable through strengthened health watchdogs and new patients' groups. | The Conservatives believe the NHS should have more autonomy but should also be made more accountable through strengthened health watchdogs and new patients' groups. |
Board members would be appointed on the advice of an appointments commission, and would include financial, commissioning and clinical directors. | |
Top-down targets - all they do is meet a need for political grandstanding and damage patient care Andrew LansleyShadow health secretary class="" href="/1/hi/health/6221398.stm">Tory health plans: reaction | |
They would allocate funds to primary care trusts and oversee the commissioning of NHS services, in line with objectives agreed with the health secretary. | |
And all government targets would be scrapped. | |
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Top-down targets - all they do is meet a need for political grandstanding and damage patient care. | |
"The NHS board which we propose will give a high degree of independence which represents patient and public interests." | |
'Long term stability' | |
In the foreword to the document, the Tories pledge to end "pointless upheavals" and "increased bureaucracy". | |
And they say the plans will secure the "long term stability of our NHS" by giving NHS professionals more opportunity to exercise their judgment and expertise. | |
Under the proposals, GPs' pay would be linked to the quality and success of treatments they provide. | |
But Mr Lansley said there would be no change to the GP contract introduced in 2004, allowing them to opt-out of out-of-hours care. | |
"That day has gone," he said. | |
The Tories' plan to scrap waiting list targets means only one thing: longer waits Hazel BlearsLabour chairwoman | |
Other proposals include making the NHS more accountable, by creating more powerful patients' watchdogs and requiring all primary care trusts to publish annual improvement plans. | |
The Tories would also set up a new national organisation, Healthwatch, to represent patients and would enshrine 10 "core principles" of the NHS in legislation. | The Tories would also set up a new national organisation, Healthwatch, to represent patients and would enshrine 10 "core principles" of the NHS in legislation. |
It is thought prime minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown had considered an independent board to run the NHS, but last week Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt appeared to rule that out. | |
Unelected board | |
On Wednesday, health minister Andy Burnham said an unelected board should not be made responsible for allocating £90bn of taxpayers' money. | |
And Labour chairwoman Hazel Blears, a deputy leadership contender, said: "The Tories' plan to scrap waiting list targets means only one thing: longer waits." | |
"This, at the very time when the public aspires to shorter waits, more say, and more personalised services from their NHS." | |
The shift from a culture of targets to a focus on outcomes for patients is also a step in the right direction Dr Gill MorganNHS Confederation | |
She added: "Their proposals for an NHS board sounds like a return to the days of nationalised industries. | |
"You can't run a £90bn-a-year enterprise like the NHS as though it were British Leyland." | |
The NHS Confederation, which represents 90% of NHS organisations, welcomed the Tories' commitment to a tax-funded NHS. | |
Chief executive Dr Gill Morgan said she was pleased there was no " violent change of direction or major reorganisation" as the NHS needed stability. | |
She added: "The shift from a culture of targets to a focus on outcomes for patients is also a step in the right direction." | |
The British Medical Association welcomed the proposals for an independent NHS board. | |
But it said GPs' pay was already linked to the success of treatments and it would need to be persuaded of the need to extend it further. |