Tories 'will cut NHS targets'
Stephen Dorrell says the Conservatives want to make the NHS more results-driven
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Sunday, 21, Jan 2007 11:51
The Conservatives plan on discarding government targets as a means of improving the NHS, it has been claimed.
A report by the BBC says that leader of the opposition David Cameron will announce plans to scrap the targets as part of the Conservatives' new health policy, to be unveiled tomorrow.
Doctors would be awarded greater autonomy under the new system, which would see the introduction of alternative measures tackling efficiency and post-treatment patient health.
"We have endless forms about process and insufficient focus on the health results that the NHS exists to deliver and it is that focus that we are seeking to shift away from process towards health outcomes," former health secretary Stephen Dorrell said.
A report published by health watchdog the Healthcare Commission last October congratulated the government on the "real progress" that had been achieved in the last few years on improving waiting and admission times, but found that more needs to be done to improve patients' hospital experiences.
Doctors have warned that the poor state of the NHS' finances is contributing to targets not being met.