Our CEO reacts to the Government's Plan for Patients
The Plan for Patients includes a £500m fund to ensure more people are discharged from hospital safely, GPs being able to employ more senior nurses, same-day appointments for those who need them and routine appointment waits are no more than two weeks, and funding for more 999 call handlers.
The UK Government will aim to 'inform and empower patients to play a full part in decision-making about their health and treatment, by publishing easy-to-use data about how their local NHS is performing, such as on waiting lists and general practice appointments'. This easy-to-use search tool is an example of this already in place, making it easier for patients to find out about more accurate waiting times.
"As we head into the winter months the NHS is going to face pressures across the whole system, while managing the backlog that built up as a result of the pandemic"
- Louise Ansari Healthwatch England National Director
As part of the Government's Plan for Patients, they will aim to:
- Make it easier to contact your GP practice, by making an additional 31,000 phone lines available
- Inform patients by publishing data on how many appointments each GP practice delivers, and the length of waits for appointments
- Expand mental health support for children at school, given that half of mental health conditions take root by the age of 14
- Answer patient calls more quickly by increasing the number of call handlers for both 111 and 999
Our CEO, Joy Beishon, said:
"From a patient perspective, today’s announcements are great news on paper. Anything to help reduce the issues around hospital discharge can only be welcomed, coupled with a pledge to cut waiting times for GP appointments and a commitment for more 999 call-handlers.
Our concern is about resource. Additional financial help is welcome, but we need to be reassured the people are there to do the work.
Patients want to be reassured there will be enough people to do the extra work.
Extra money is welcome, but it is only effective if the staffing is there to help ease the pressure on the health system from diagnosis to discharge".
The UK Government say that they 'will help achieve this plan by focusing on ABCD – ambulances, backlogs, care, doctors and dentists. While health and social care services do many things beyond these, people receiving the care they need, where they need it, at the right time for them, will lead to smoother pathways and meet public expectations'
