The Royal College of Physicians is calling on Government and politicians to ‘stop reorganising the NHS from the top down’, to ‘increase funding to avoid a crisis in care’, and to ‘commit to an NHS free at the point of delivery’.
Future hospital: more than a building sets out the RCP’s vision of how to improve patient care and safeguard the NHS from an impending financial crisis. The five-point plan calls for investment in medical education and support for research, as well as promotion of public health through evidence-based legislation. The plan also urges the future government to adopt the RCP’s Future Hospital model for redesigning health services that brings care closer to the patient.
The five-point plan calls for the following:
Ω Remove the financial and structural barriers to joined-up care for patients. It should be easier for hospitals, GPs and social care teams to work together than separately. Financial incentives must help, not hinder, patient care.
Ω Invest now to deliver good care in the future. The RCP says that hospitals are under- resourced and under pressure, and is warning that a crisis in care can only be avoided by a significant increase in health funding.
Ω Prioritise what works in the NHS and improve what doesn’t. There must be no ‘big bang’ change to national NHS structures. Government must focus on long-term change that delivers joined-up care for patients. A ‘10-year vision’ should set the tone for all spending and policy decisions. Difficult decisions need to be made about the design of services.
Ω Promote public health through evidence- based legislation. Support local prevention and recovery services combined with national leadership on public health, social disadvantage and inequality.
Ω Adopt the Future Hospital model as a template for service redesign. Government and politicians should support the development of the Future Hospital model. Specialist medical care should reach from wards into the community. Supporting patients to recover and manage their conditions must be a priority.
RCP president Professor Jane Dacre, said: “The NHS has suffered badly from the instability caused by constant reorganisation, and funding policies that have made it harder for hospitals, GPs and community services to work together to improve patient care. The next government must commit to a long term vision that brings joined- up care to patients wherever they are. They must also increase funding quickly to safeguard the NHS from an impending financial crisis, and reassure the public that the NHS will remain free at the point of delivery.”
