skip to content

Health White Paper – Department of Health Consultations

Health White Paper Summary  

The Secretary of State for Health has published a new NHS White Paper, setting out the coalition Government’s vision for the NHS.  

‘Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS’ sets out proposals to create a patient-centred NHS, which focuses on improving their experience and health outcomes and that empowers professionals to take control of services.

Patients will be “put at the heart of the NHS” and have more choice over how and where they are treated. They will be given control over their care records and be able to compare the performance of hospitals and clinicians online. The government promises to scrap “top-down” targets in favour of a regime based on clinical outcomes. An independent NHS Commissioning Board will oversee the new regime, with local councils taking over the public health element of the PCTs’ work, and GPs taking the responsibility for commissioning local health services.   

Liberating the NHS – the health secretary, Andrew Lansley set out a wide range of radical measures, including proposals to:   

  • Give groups of GPs responsibility for commissioning NHS services through the creation of 500 GP consortia across England.
  • Allow patients to register with whichever GP practice they choose, regardless of where they live.
  • Enable patients to choose which hospital and consultant-led team they want to be treated by.
  • Force all NHS trusts to become self-governing foundation trusts with the “aim to create the largest social enterprise sector in the world”.
  • Establish a new independent NHS Commissioning Board to oversee GP commissioning.
  • Phase out 150 primary care trusts and 10 strategic health authorities, at the cost of thousands of administrative jobs.
  • Reduce NHS management costs by more than 45% over the next four years.
  • Cut numbers of NHS quangos and streamline the Department of Health.
  • Give councils responsibility to support integration across health and social care.
  • Ring fence the public health budget.
  • Oblige doctors to keep data on their own performance and publish detailed evidence of hospital mortality rates.
  • Establish a new consumer champion, HealthWatch England, to strengthen the voice of patients and the public, under the aegis of the Care Quality Commission, but led by local authorities.

 

A number of public consultations are now taking place to determine how these proposals can work in practice. So far six of these consultations have been released.

Transparency in outcomes – a framework for the NHS 

The White Paper set out how the Secretary of State for Health will hold the NHS Commissioning Board to account for delivering better health outcomes through a national NHS Outcomes Framework. This consultation is on how the NHS should develop the Outcomes Framework.  

 Consultation: A framework for the NHS  

Liberating the NHS: Increasing democratic legitimacy in health – Consultation 

This consultation seeks views on proposals to strengthen the role of local government in health. It suggests local authorities take on local public health improvement functions, have a new role in promoting integration, and local health watch organisations acting as independent consumer champions, accountable to local authorities.

Consultation: Increasing democratic legitimacy in health  

Liberating the NHS: Commissioning for patients – Consultation on proposals  

This consultation seeks views on how proposals for putting local GP practices in charge of commissioning services, to best meet the needs of local people, should be implemented. 

Consultation: Commissioning for Patients 

Liberating the NHS: Regulating healthcare providers – A consultation   

This consultation seeks views on foundation trusts and the establishment of Monitor as an independent economic regulator for health and adult social care. 

Consultation: Regulating Healthcare Providers 

Establishing HealthWatch

This document sets out key issues and questions for LINks to consider as well as answers to some common questions. It states the Health White Paper is clear on ‘what’ HealthWatch should do. It now wants to consult on ’how’ it should work to achieve its aims. 

Consultation: Establishing HealthWatch

Regulating Healthcare Providers

This document is part of the public consultation on the implementation of proposals outlined in the White Paper and supporting documents. It further outlines proposals on foundation trusts and the establishment of Monitor as an independent economic regulator for health and adult social care. It seeks views on specific consultation questions.

Consultation: Regulating Healthcare Providers

All of these consultations will be open until 11th October 2010.

« return to all News