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Jeremy Hunt defends NHS reforms as vital to seven-day care | Jeremy Hunt defends NHS reforms as vital to seven-day care |
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Reforms to the NHS which saw the government break its promises and enforce a top-down reorganisation were necessary to provide the money needed for a seven-day health service in the future that will reduce mortality rates, Jeremy Hunt has said. | Reforms to the NHS which saw the government break its promises and enforce a top-down reorganisation were necessary to provide the money needed for a seven-day health service in the future that will reduce mortality rates, Jeremy Hunt has said. |
The health secretary defended the controversial shakeup of the NHS, which saw vast sections scrapped and new organisations created in the early days of the coalition, saying it had made £1.5bn in savings which will be used to ensure hospitals can open at weekends when, he admitted, people are more likely to die. | The health secretary defended the controversial shakeup of the NHS, which saw vast sections scrapped and new organisations created in the early days of the coalition, saying it had made £1.5bn in savings which will be used to ensure hospitals can open at weekends when, he admitted, people are more likely to die. |
Related: Cameron pledges seven-day NHS services under future Tory government | Related: Cameron pledges seven-day NHS services under future Tory government |
David Cameron is due to announce plans later on Saturday for hospitals across England to offer high-level consultant care seven days a week by 2020. The plans aim to reducing mortality rates at the weekends, when resources and key decision makers are sometimes not available for patients and junior doctors are frequently left on their own to deal with seriously ill patients. | David Cameron is due to announce plans later on Saturday for hospitals across England to offer high-level consultant care seven days a week by 2020. The plans aim to reducing mortality rates at the weekends, when resources and key decision makers are sometimes not available for patients and junior doctors are frequently left on their own to deal with seriously ill patients. |
Hunt told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We have made progress but the truth is mortality rates are higher if you are admitted at weekends – 11% higher if you are admitted on a Saturday, 16% if you are admitted on a Sunday. Illness doesn’t just happen Monday to Friday in working hours, it happens 24/7 and that’s why this next step is really important. | |
“It will require more money. The NHS last autumn put together its own plan on how to transform services over the next five years to cope with the pressures of an ageing population. That was a five-year plan and they said for the next year they would need an extra £1.7bn and we found that money in the autumn statement. But it will need more going forward and you can do that on the back of a strong economy.” | “It will require more money. The NHS last autumn put together its own plan on how to transform services over the next five years to cope with the pressures of an ageing population. That was a five-year plan and they said for the next year they would need an extra £1.7bn and we found that money in the autumn statement. But it will need more going forward and you can do that on the back of a strong economy.” |
Labour has raised doubts over whether the NHS will be able to afford the extra services without significant investment in staff at a time when efficiency savings are still being planned. | Labour has raised doubts over whether the NHS will be able to afford the extra services without significant investment in staff at a time when efficiency savings are still being planned. |
Healthcare workers have also already criticised the proposals, fearing that without significant investment they will just put more pressure on staff who are already overworked and seeing dozens of patients every day to plug gaps in service provision. | Healthcare workers have also already criticised the proposals, fearing that without significant investment they will just put more pressure on staff who are already overworked and seeing dozens of patients every day to plug gaps in service provision. |
Hunt said the planned “efficiency changes” would provide the extra funds the NHS needs. | Hunt said the planned “efficiency changes” would provide the extra funds the NHS needs. |
He also defended the reforms forced through by Andrew Lansley, the then health secretary, at the beginning of the coalition. | He also defended the reforms forced through by Andrew Lansley, the then health secretary, at the beginning of the coalition. |
The top-down reorganisation of the NHS, which saw primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities (SHAs) scrapped in favour of doctor-led commissioning groups, broke a 2010 pledge by the coalition which had expressly ruled it out. The reforms have been criticised for taking the focus away from saving funds, improving care and reducing waiting times to instead concentrate on bureaucracy. | The top-down reorganisation of the NHS, which saw primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities (SHAs) scrapped in favour of doctor-led commissioning groups, broke a 2010 pledge by the coalition which had expressly ruled it out. The reforms have been criticised for taking the focus away from saving funds, improving care and reducing waiting times to instead concentrate on bureaucracy. |
Hunt said: “I entirely accept those decisions were not popular decisions. But let’s look at the impact of them. The official figures say those reforms are saving about £1.5bn a year. The promise we made before the election was to take money out of the big bureaucracies, the back office people said there are far too many managers in the NHS, and we said we want more doctors and nurses.” | Hunt said: “I entirely accept those decisions were not popular decisions. But let’s look at the impact of them. The official figures say those reforms are saving about £1.5bn a year. The promise we made before the election was to take money out of the big bureaucracies, the back office people said there are far too many managers in the NHS, and we said we want more doctors and nurses.” |
Cameron will tell the Conservative spring forum in Manchester that consultant-level services, particularly in accident and emergency departments, should be available at weekends under the plans, as well as urgent care facilities. The changes to hospitals follow a previous pledge by the government to extend GP services to 8pm every evening, seven days a week. | Cameron will tell the Conservative spring forum in Manchester that consultant-level services, particularly in accident and emergency departments, should be available at weekends under the plans, as well as urgent care facilities. The changes to hospitals follow a previous pledge by the government to extend GP services to 8pm every evening, seven days a week. |
Cameron will say he wants to improve available health services to make it a “truly seven-day NHS,” improving access for millions of people across the UK. | Cameron will say he wants to improve available health services to make it a “truly seven-day NHS,” improving access for millions of people across the UK. |
The need for seven-day public health services was set out in NHS England’s five-year forward view report, published in October 2014. Prof Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s medical director has said there is a need for seven-day care because mortality rates at weekends are higher when doctors are working unsupported. | The need for seven-day public health services was set out in NHS England’s five-year forward view report, published in October 2014. Prof Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s medical director has said there is a need for seven-day care because mortality rates at weekends are higher when doctors are working unsupported. |
NHS England, however, has already warned that the health service could face an £8bn shortfall in funding by 2020 and there was an urgent need for extra funds. | NHS England, however, has already warned that the health service could face an £8bn shortfall in funding by 2020 and there was an urgent need for extra funds. |
The announcement follows a pledge by Ed Miliband to impose a cap on NHS contracts valued at more than £500,000 and comes after Labour said it would spend an extra £2.5bn on the NHS, compared with its opponents. | The announcement follows a pledge by Ed Miliband to impose a cap on NHS contracts valued at more than £500,000 and comes after Labour said it would spend an extra £2.5bn on the NHS, compared with its opponents. |
Hunt said the plans would help make the NHS safer at weekends, building on work already done on places such as Mid Staffordshire NHS trust, where hundreds of patients died at Stafford hospital between 2005 and 2008 as a result of poor care. | Hunt said the plans would help make the NHS safer at weekends, building on work already done on places such as Mid Staffordshire NHS trust, where hundreds of patients died at Stafford hospital between 2005 and 2008 as a result of poor care. |
“We inherited some real tragedies in places like Mid Staffs, where care was unsafe, often because of problems that happened at weekends.” he said, adding that seven-day care was already available in hospitals in Salford, Chesterfield and Sheffield. | “We inherited some real tragedies in places like Mid Staffs, where care was unsafe, often because of problems that happened at weekends.” he said, adding that seven-day care was already available in hospitals in Salford, Chesterfield and Sheffield. |
Cameron has been accused of “political game-playing” in making the announcement about seven-day care in the lead-up to the election. Dr Mark Porter, who chairs the British Medical Association council, said: “The £2bn extra funding that has been pledged falls far short of what is needed to deliver existing services, let alone fund additional care,” he said. | |
“The NHS is recovering from one of the worst winter crises on record, during which some hospitals were forced to close their doors because they couldn’t cope … With existing services stretched to breaking point, a majority of hospitals facing crippling budget deficits and frontline staff under extreme pressure, the NHS needs far more than just words to deliver extra care. | “The NHS is recovering from one of the worst winter crises on record, during which some hospitals were forced to close their doors because they couldn’t cope … With existing services stretched to breaking point, a majority of hospitals facing crippling budget deficits and frontline staff under extreme pressure, the NHS needs far more than just words to deliver extra care. |
“Without a detailed, fully-costed plan to provide the staff and resources needed to deliver more seven-day services, this is at best an empty pledge and at worst shameless political game-playing with the NHS ahead of the election.” |