NHS trust looking to pay surgeons bonuses
Sunday, 20 Jul 2008 21:01
Surgeons could receive bonuses based on improvements in patients' health
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The country's largest NHS trust, the Imperial College Healthcare Trust in London, is looking to pay surgeons bonuses for successful operations.
The proposal, which is currently under discussion, would involve paying performance based bonuses linked to a patient's improvement in health.
A spokesman for the trust said: "We are looking at a pilot scheme for a particular operation which will measure the improved functionality of the patient and we are looking at linking certain performance-related bonuses to that," a spokesman for the trust said.
"At the moment we are in discussions with the surgical team," he added.
The Patients Association has criticised the proposals saying that doctors did not need to be offered incentives in order to provide quality treatment.
Katherine Murphy from the patients' body said: "Doctors already have a duty to provide high-quality care.
"I think a good doctor would be insulted by the idea that they will only do their best on the operating table if there is extra money in it," she added.
A spokesman for the Department of Health told the BBC the scheme was not a government initiative, adding that bonuses could be offered if improved patient mobility could be measured.
He told the broadcaster: "Quality indicators such as complication rates and patient feedback are already used in specialties where they are available.
"As such measures become more widespread and robust, they will become increasingly influential in determining who gets awards," he added.