The Department of Health has launched
two consultations to give patients more choice and a louder voice.
The White Paper, ‘Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS’, set
out the Government’s ambition to give people more control over
their own care, from choice of GP to which consultant-led team they
are treated by. Today, two consultations, one on Patient
Choice and another on Information, set out proposals to meet that
ambition. Both the public and healthcare professionals are
encouraged to take part. The consultation period closes on 14
January 2011.
An Information Revolution is one of a series of
documents for consultation published after the White Paper Equity
and Excellence: Liberating the NHS. It is part of the
Government’s agenda to create a revolution for patients, "putting
patients first," giving people more information and control and
greater choice about their care. The information revolution
is about transforming the way information is accessed, collected,
analysed and used so that people are at the heart of health and
adult social care services.
Greater choice and control: The Government's White Paper
sets out proposals for greater choice and control over care and
treatment, choice of treatment and healthcare provider being
achieved in the majority of NHS-funded services by no later than
2013/14.
The consultation explains the
proposals in more details and seeks the views of patients, the
wider public, healthcare professionals and the NHS on:
- Proposals for offering more choice for patients and service
users
- How shared decision making can become the norm
- How it can happen: information, 'any willing provider' and
other tools
- Making safe and sustainable choices
The Choice consultation can be found
at:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_119651 and
you can participate online at www.consultations.dh.gov.uk
The consultation Liberating the NHS:
An Information Revolution can be found at:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_120080 and
you can participate online at www.consultations.dh.gov.uk
The summary of responses to the consultation on enabling people
to register with the GP practice of their choice can be found at:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Responsestoconsultations/DH_120283