News > Policy matters

The Secretary of State has introduced a five-year plan, NHS 2010 – 2015: from good to great, to reshape the NHS to meet the challenge of delivering high quality health care for all in a tough financial environment. The vision is for an NHS that is organised around patients, giving them more choice, convenience and control over their care. For the first time payment will be linked to patient satisfaction.

Between 2011/12 and 2012/13, NHS frontline spending will rise in line with inflation. However, the NHS needs to identify £15 - 20 billion of efficiency savings by the end of 2013/14 that can be reinvested within the service.  For the third year in a row, the national priorities in the Operating Framework remain the same:

• improving cleanliness and reducing healthcare associated infections;
• improving access through achievement of the 18-week referral to treatment pledge and improving access (including at evenings and weekends) to GP services;
• keeping adults and children well, improving their health and reducing health inequalities;
• improving patient experience, staff satisfaction, and engagement; and
• preparing to respond in a state of emergency such as an outbreak of pandemic flu, learning from our experience of swine flu.

http://tinyurl.com/yc2nbe3