The National Health Service - Essay Example

?NHS Change in Health and Social Care Introduction The National Health Service or the NHS is the government-funded healthcare system of England. It is mostly supported by the taxation system very much in the same vein as other public health services in the state including the police department, fire department, and primary schools. This system covers any legal resident of England or of the United Kingdom. The current system is covered by the National Health Service Act of 2006, however, the Health and Social Care Bill introduced last year is projected to introduce changes in the system. These changes shall include savings across the health services which would likely impact on the health care professionals as well as the services which would be delivered to the patients. This paper shall identify the main features of the present National Health Service, and also appreciate the recent changes to the system. Generally, it shall review the NHS changes proposed in the bill which is now proceeding through Parliament and evaluate how these reforms would address the problems with the service. Body The NHS based on the current specifications of the National Health Service Act of 2006 basically sets forth that adequate healthcare services must be made available to all individuals, regardless of wealth and other demographic considerations (Pelly, 2010). This NHS is also founded on three main principles: first, it must meet the needs of all people; second, it must be free at the point of delivery; and third, it must be based on the clinical needs of the patient, not on the ability of the patient to pay (NHS, 2009). Various additions in these principles were made by subsequent legislations, specifically the National Health Service Act of 2006. The NHS Act of 2006 emphasizes that the NHS is to be managed by the government through the Department of Health. The government has also designated the management of ten Strategic Health Authorities to supervise the operations of the NHS, most especially the Primary Care Trusts in various areas (NHS Act 2006). The primary care trusts are assigned to delivery primary care; the NHS hospital trusts and foundation trusts supervise the hospitals and other treatment centres; the NHS ambulance provide services to these trusts; the care trusts deliver health and social services; and the mental health services trusts manage mental illness, including involuntary commitment powers (NHS Act 2006). Most health professionals in the UK would be governed under the Act and provide services based on the above principles. There are various changes being proposed by the Health and Social Care Bill currently being considered by the Parliament. The white paper of the coalition government which was published in 2010 established the need to reorganise the NHS (Department of Health, 2010). The white paper, entitled ‘Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS’ implied possible changes for the trusts and organizations under the NHS (Department of Health, 2010). The paper also pointed out the government’s declared need to decrease the centralized nature of the NHS by transferring the centralized power to the general practitioners and the patients. This implied a need to move significant resources of the NHS into the able control of the GPs (Department of Health, 2010). The white paper also emphasized the following elements: that patients are at the very core of the NHS; that changes must be made on the focus of measurement to clinical outcomes; and health professionals, especially GPs must be given more power and authority in the NHS (Department of Health, 2010). The importance of decentralizing the NHS is meant to serve the people better. With the growing population as well as growing health needs, the need to decentralize the NHS further has become more imperative (Mathieson, 2011). The best choices of health personnel with whom the NHS decentralization can be considered are the GPs because they are usually the first persons approached by sick patients. Therefore, allowing them to have some share of the NHS power allocations is meant to improve the delivery of health services (Lyall, 2010). In this set-up, the GPs would become the direct supervisors of the NHS funds, and with this change, the funds would no longer be channelled through the Trusts. Concerns have been expressed with this practice mostly in relation to the fragmentation of the NHS and limited central control and planning (BMJ, 2011). GPs have also expressed concerns on the destabilisation of the NHS which would likely cause harm to overall patient outcomes. Discussions on this possibility have to be reviewed by the Parliament in order to ensure that reliable changes would be implemented in the end. The suggested changes for the NHS are also meant to modernise the system in order to meet the current challenges of the health and government system (Department of Health 2012). One of these challenges involves the rise in treatment costs coupled with the increase in the demand for services. With the aging of the population, demand for NHS services is also set to increase mostly because of the higher prevalence of long-term health issues within this population (Department of Health 2012). Moreover, recent years have also increased the prevalence for long-term diseases including hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and similar diseases which are mostly caused by unhealthy eating habits. More people have become obese and have been living unhealthy lives; as such, more of these people need medical care (Department of Health 2012). With higher needs, a bigger burden on the NHS has become apparent. The need to improve the NHS has also been seen in recent years. As compared to other nations, the NHS is not achieving improved outcomes in certain areas. The Royal College of Surgeons declared that among abdominal surgery patients, major improvements could have been gained if the patients were able to access better health facilities equipped to meet their needs (Department of Health, 2012). These needs include X-ray scanners, operating rooms, CT-scans, and adequate post-operative care. Noticeably, there are also variations of the NHS in the country in terms of quality of care. The chance of diagnosis and survival can be different depending on where the patient receives medical treatment (Mathieson, 2011). Diagnosis can sometimes be different for each patient based on where he seeks medical treatment. He may be diagnosed with cancer in one trust and then have that diagnosis be negated in another trust. The greater problem in this scenario is the medical intervention carried out for the patient who may be misdiagnosed for his disease (Department of Health, 2012). In other words, there is a fragmentation and there are major gaps in the delivery and implementation of the current NHS. And these gaps need to be filled in order to ensure improved outcomes and the adequate delivery of services to the general population (BBC 2011a). The reforms for the NHS are on the right track because the current NHS the care administered to patients is fractured between the health care and social services (Department of Health 2012). The reforms to the NHS would therefore allow a more integrated type of service involving the various agencies which can deliver adequate care for the patient. More often than not, patients are often required to adjust their needs based on available services, and as a result, the appropriate care they need is denied them (Department of Health, 2010). In other words, they are removed from accessing the services that they would need the most. And in the end, the available services bear little resemblance to the actual needs of patients or how well their needs are being delivered. There has also been a noticeable gap in the accountability within the NHS as there seems to be no means to hold PCTs and trusts locally accountable (BBC, 2011b). The idea that the Secretary of State is accountable for all the activities within the NHS leads to a less than idyllic and responsive NHS as well as a risky setup for patients (Department of Health 2012). The new NHS seeks to ensure better and specific accountability within the system and among the health professionals involved. The current state of finances for the NHS is also a significant reason for a reformation of the NHS (Pollock, 2011). With the economic crisis bringing various budgetary issues for the government, the need to apply rationalized as well as improved values for spending in the NHS have become even more ominous. The new NHS seeks to established better healthcare spending practices for the benefit of the general population. Conclusion Based on the above considerations, the proposed changes in the NHS are all meant to improve the quality, the adequacy, and the fit of health services for the general population. In recent years, there have been various changes in the economy, the healthcare delivery, as well as the disease experience for most parts of the globe. The NHS has managed to deliver the services based on patient needs. However, issues on adequacy, timeliness, accountability, responsiveness, and fit have been apparent. And the importance of reforming the NHS has surfaced as an important consideration for the government health authorities. The proposed changes for the NHS are meant to make these crucial adjustments and advancements. They are meant to make the NHS more service-oriented and more responsive to the needs of the patients. References BBC (2011a), NHS changes: Points of contention [online]. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12971361 [accessed 08 March 2012]. BBC (2011b), Labour questions NHS Commissioning Board accountability [online]. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_lords/newsid_9637000/9637221.stm [accessed 06 March 2012]. British Medical Journal (2011), Reaction: what they say about the health bill, BMJ 342, d413. Department of Health (2012), The case for change – The Health and Social Care Bill [online]. Available at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/files/2012/02/A2-Case-for-change.pdf [accessed 07 March 2012]. Department of Health (2010), Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS [online]. 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