UK National Health Service - Assignment Example

 UK National Health Service Abstract The paper analyses the key changes in health and social care policy from 1832 to the present day. Additionally, the paper also discusses the UK welfare state as well as aspects of the UK National Health Service. Introduction Since 1832, the health and social care policy of UK have been making reforms for the benefit of legal residents of UK. One of the most important acts in this area is William Belviridge report that was published in 1942 (NHS England, 2015). The National Health Services or NHS was founded when the health secretary opened Parks Hospital (NHS UK, 2015). Since then, the government is engaged in expanding the scope of health and social care policy as an attempt to become the best welfare state.  1.1. 1.2. Beveridge Report First published in 1942, Social Insurance and Allied service, which was widely known as Beveridge Report, was the work of Sir William Beveridge. The aim was to take the state towards the welfare state. In 1942, this influential report was completed and published.  He described various maladies such as disease, idleness, ignorance, squalor as the giant evils and proposed wide-spread reforms in each area (Beveridge, 1969). This report also became the basis for the scheme for free school meals and vaccination against diphtheria for the children who were studying the school. July 5 1948 – The NHS is born The National Health Services heralded the new era when health care is available to all people regardless of gender, race and groups. The NHS in the 1960s 1962 – Enoch Powell's Hospital Plan As the medical profession criticized the separation of NHS in 3 parts, local health authorities, general practice and hospitals, the unification of these services was approved with Enoch Powell’s Hospital Plan. 1967 – The Salmon Report The Salmon Report that was published in 1967 set out various recommendations for the development of structure of nursing staff and their status in hospital management. 1967 – The Abortion Act The Abortion Act passed on a free vote and became law on April 27 1968. It makes abortion legal up to 28 weeks and should be carried out by a registered physician. The NHS in the 1980s 1980s – The Black Report The aim of this report was to do an investigation in prevalent inequality in healthcare services in the country despite the founding of NHS and was commissioned by then-secretary of state, David Ennuals. The NHS in the 1990s 1990 – NHS Community Care Act This act offered power to health authorities for management of their own budget and purchase of health care from any health organization, which has been deemed as a provider of health care.  1994 – Setting up NHS Organ Donor Register In October 1994, NHS organ donor register was launched, and people were encouraged to get registered.  The NHS in the 2000s The NHS Plan – 2000 This plan brought about the biggest change in healthcare in the country with increased funding and reform to eliminate geographical inequalities, extension in patient choice and improvement in service standards.  First Foundation Trusts Created – 2004 First introduced in 2004, the NHS foundation trusts are independent legal entities, and their main function is to do strategic planning for organization at the local level.  Next Stage Review – 2008 Lord Darzi’s Next Stage Review was the largest consultation process which involved medical staff and public regarding the improvement in the quality of NHS service. The NHS Constitution – 2009 On 21 Jan, 2009, the NHS constitution was published. It was updated in 2013 to include the structural changes. Care Quality Commission Launched – 2009 CQC was launched in 2009 as the new regulator for determining the adult social care, mental health and other types of health and quality services. The NHS in the 2010’s Liberating NHS White Paper Launched in July 2010, the white paper set out various proposals for future. The Health and Social Care Bill This bill was published in draft form in January 2011and is a crucial part of modernization in NHS. The act was published on 15 June, 2012 and came in effective in April, 2013.  The New NHS The new structure of NHS was fully operational on 1 April, 2013. Now, it is an independent body which has been completely separated from Government. NHS England Business Plan: 2013/14 – 2015/16 This business plan explains the future plans of NHS services. Task 2a: 2.1 The Three Perspectives of the UK Welfare State The concept of welfare state includes the key role of state in promotion as well as protection of its citizens which includes health, social and economic being. The Poor laws implemented by Royal commission in 1832 anticipated the modern UK welfare state. They were ceased when it was found that they were abused by people. However, during the reports published by Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree found that more than one-quarter or one third population during industrial era was living below the poverty level.   As the labour party became very popular with the people, the Liberal party initiated Liberal welfare reforms and laid foundation of modern state. Gradually, they were extended to all fields during next 40 years. After World War I, the governments were keen on reform the system to reduce mass social unrest risk. As government amassed total control of state over every part of economy during Second World War, most of the people were used to the idea of the ability of state to resolve many issues in all parts of the state. After founding of NHS is 1948, they are in favor of extending its reach to all over the country. Task 2b&c: Defining Universalism Universalism can be broadly defined as the minimum set of high quality services including palliative, promotive, curative, preventive and rehabilitative health services that should be available to all users at an affordable rate without any qualification (What is universal coverage ? 2015, WHO). The main obligations in these services are with regard to some mandatory services, which are provided to all UK residents. In addition to that, it also establishes the end-user’s rights and corresponding undertaking by health care services. Defining Means Testing The means test can be broadly defined as the determination of whether any family or individual is eligible for the government assistance. The test is based upon whether the family or individual has any financial means to continue health care without any assistance.  The NHS health services offer free health care services to all UK residents with various types of services provisions as per the requirement and eligibility regarding the tight guidelines decided by this body (Age UK, 2015). The eligibility criteria include the particular characteristics and type of health care needs and its severity and intensity. In addition to that, the guidelines also include complexity of the requirements and the unpredictability of the requirements, including the health risks.  National Health Services or NHS offers three types of provisions such as state provision, individual provision and private provision for various types of health care services for UK residents. One of the main advantages of this provision is that the patient is offered services of qualified health professional and does not have to wait for the start of the treatment. In addition to that, the health-care professional has complete medical history at his or her fingertips.  State Provision There are many advantages of state provisions as majority of NHS health professionals regard their work as the public service and treat the patients as per their best ability (National Health Service, 2015). The job of state professionals is also a long-term contract, so they offer continuity in the service.  In addition to that, the NHS hospitals are equipped with state-of-the-art technology equipment, which offers better patient care.   Individual Provision Whenever required, NHS also offers individual provision care such as registered nurses for the people who require home care temporary or permanent due to accident or any other reason (National Health Service, 2015). The patient is free to focus upon improvement in health. He or she can become relatively independent and does not have to seek help from relatives and other people. Private Provision NHS also refers patients to private health providers as per the requirement. The main advantage of this provision is the absence of waiting list and best care for the patient. Task 3: Report Introduction Launched in 1948, NHS or National Health Services, the main idea behind this was a belief which was long-held that the best health care services should be available to all citizens regardless of status and wealth. With some exceptions such as dental, optical and prescription’]s services, NHS remains the free service for all residents of UK. It covers all services, including emergency treatments, NHS health check, long-term condition treatment to transplant and end-of-life care. Structure of NHS and Agency Role 1. The Secretary of State for Health The Secretary of State for Health handles the complete responsibility of Department of Health and offers strategic leadership for social care, NHS and public health in the country. 2. Department of Health DH or Department of Health is responsible for funding as well as strategic leadership for both social and health care in the country. DH is supported by 23 public bodies as well as 23 agencies. 3. NHS England An independent body, the main role of NHS is the improvement of health outcomes for UK residents (Age UK, 2015). It offers national leadership for increasing quality of care and improvement of outcomes, allocates the resources to CCGs and commissions specialist and primary care services. It also oversees the CCGs operations on the regular basis.  4. Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) CCGs can be broadly defined as clinically led statutory NHS bodies, which are responsible for planning and commissioning of healthcare services for a particular area. The members of CCGs include GPs and others such as consultants and nurses. These members handle various responsibilities such as commissioning of most secondary services such as mental health and learning disability services, community health services and emergency and urgent care. They also handle rehabilitation care and planned hospital car and are responsible for 60% of NHS budget (WHO, 2015).  In addition to that, they have the authority to commission any service provider that meets the NHS costs and standards. It can be private sector providers, charities, social enterprises or NHS hospitals.  Care Planning Cycle A care planning cycle can be broadly defined as an agreement between the patient and the health professional or social service so that the person can do the day to day management by himself. It can be something that has been recorded in the patient notes or on a paper. The patient who is slated to receive long term treatment can participate in making their own care plan. The care plan mainly assesses the care required by the patient and makes the best plan to provide it. Strengths Availability of well-equipped quality and safety tools that help in many aspects like data gathering, writing problem statement, data analysis and presentation. The working culture as a team brings in success to the project. The well-equipped management tools and techniques, measurements, testing changes are keys to its success. Lean thinking concepts can be easily applied to the care planning management projects and techniques. Implementation of active service model makes it more well-planned, accountable and measurable. Weaknesses It brings in rigidity to the process and brings a tendency to make it inflexible. There are chances that the planning can be misdirected, which can be used to serve the interest of individuals. Planning actually is a time consuming and hence it is not suitable at the time of emergency. If the planning is elaborate, it can give a false sense of security. Collection, analysis and evaluation can be expensive as it involves collection of facts. For making a care plan, the patient needs to speak with their social worker, GP or nurse about the support. It covers various areas such as medicine's emergency numbers of health services, an eating plan, choice of support services and finally the goal towards you wants to work. Conclusion In short, NHS or National Health Services is a well-defined structure for social and health care targeted towards UK residents. The main mission of NHS is the best health care for all. The functions of NHS are strictly defined with tight guidelines, which are implemented after consultation with patients. The care planning cycle can be broadly defined as an agreement between the health professional and the patient for daily management of patient’s life. It seeks to create awareness among patients and enable them to take charge of their lives.  References Age UK (2015). NHS Continuing healthcare [ONLINE] http://www.ageuk.org.uk/health-wellbeing/doctors-hospitals/nhs-continuing-healthcare-and-nhs-funded-nursing-care/nhs-continuing-healthcare/ [Accessed 26 March 2015]. Beveridge, William (1969). Social Insurance and Allied Services, Edition, Agathon Pr. National Health Service (2015). Private Provision in the UK National Health Service [ONLINE] Available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1963607/ [Accessed 25 March 2015]. NHS England (2015). NHS Choices, The NHS history ONLINE]., Available at http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/nhshistory/Pages/the-nhs%20history.aspx [Accessed 25 March 2015]. NHS UK (2015) What is a care plan [ONLINE]., Available at http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/Yourhealth/Pages/Careplan.aspx [Accessed 27 March 2015]. NHS UK (2015) The NHS in the 1960s [ONLINE]., Available at http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/nhshistory/Pages/NHShistory1960s.aspx [Accessed 26 March 2015]. Policy Studies Institute (2015) The Beveridge Report and the postwar reforms [ONLINE]., Available at. http://www.psi.org.uk/publications/archivepdfs/Victims/VV2.pdf [Accessed 27 March 2015]. WHO (2015). What is universal coverage [ONLINE] Available at http://www.who.int/health_financing/universal_coverage_definition/en/ [ Accessed 25 March 2015] Read More