Blair defends NHS reforms
Tuesday, 05 Dec 2006 17:37
Tony Blair claims that "the best is yet to come" for the NHS
In the face of criticism of the state of the NHS and the shape of changes taking place, the prime minister said today that the health service is improving, "often quite dramatically".
Tony Blair told healthcare professionals at the NHS Confederation that if they remained "steadfast" to proposed changes then "the best is yet to come - more lives saved, stopping more pain and distress".
Comparing today's health service with that of ten years ago, Mr Blair said: "By any standard, there have been major improvements."
His comments coincide with an anticipated meeting today in which medical experts will argue that more hospital reconfigurations – where some local hospitals will face closure and be replaced by fewer, larger, hospitals – are the desirable way forward for the NHS.
And a report released by the IPPR thinktank today outlined how specialist hospitals could save more lives through care that local hospitals are unable to offer.
There is a case for hospital reconfigurations, Mr Blair said, with the reason being "the best there can be: better treatment for the patient".
"We are in the decisive phase of reform. This is the watershed moment, when we pass from one type of system to another," he argued.
"[A high] level of expertise can't be offered everywhere. That is why it makes sense, alongside local provision, to create specialist centres of excellence, which have 24-hour consultant cover and access to state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment."
And making a final push for support, Mr Blair added: "At times the way capacity is provided may be changed. I don't minimise the importance of that. But we do need to make the case for these changes."
But both politicians and healthcare professionals have said that it must be made clear to the public that hospital closures are taking place for the best quality care to be provided, and not because of the NHS' financial problems.
Dr Jonathan Fielden, chairman of the British Medical Association's (BMA) consultants' committee, said: "Patients will naturally have anxieties about plans to change the services available at their local hospital at a time when many NHS trusts are forced to make cuts.
"It is absolutely right that there is a public debate about the way our health services are delivered in the future and it is vital that patients and clinicians are properly informed and engaged in these discussions. Necessary change in healthcare is best delivered when led by clinicians in partnership with the public."
And Liberal Democrat health spokesman Steve Webb said: "No one believes that the health service should be frozen as it is, but patients needs to be convinced that changes are driven by clinical need and are not a short term response to financial crisis.
"Any proposals for change should engage local people at an early stage and not simply present them with a sealed deal to be rubber stamped."
He added: "The government has been guilty of ramming reforms through the NHS at a damaging rate, casting aside the opinions of health professionals and disregarding the wishes of local communities."