Back to the blogosphere

After a long break, I’m returning to the blogosphere. Many things have changed since I last blogged, but top of the health agenda are the plans the new government has for the NHS.

The College welcomes the pledge of the coalition government to put patients at the heart of the NHS. Patient safety and the patient experience must always come first in the face of public sector efficiencies.

The Health Secretary has already set out his ideas for “patient-centred care”, with a number of ideas for achieving this already in the pipeline.

One plan is to penalise hospitals if patients are readmitted 30 days after discharge. While it is clearly desirable that hospitals only discharge patients when it is safe to do so, it is important to stress that reasons for readmission can be complex. Hospitals must also become responsible for better integration of community and acute health to ensure a more holistic approach to care.

It is also crucial that nurse-led services, such as specialist clinics are not lost as these often provide cost effective solutions for preventing re-admissions. The government must ensure that there are sufficient resources to enable these high standards of care to continue.

Andrew Lansley has revealed that there will be a real term increase in funding for the NHS for the next five years, although the RCN believes that this is unlikely to keep up with the demand for services. We know that the current economic situation means that the reality for the NHS and all public services is that we will have to do more with less. This will mean increasing productivity and reducing waste. More will of course become clear in the Emergency Budget on 22nd June…

We welcome further details as plans for the Health Service unfold. High quality care must always be the standard for the NHS and staff need support in terms of resources, training and time to ensure that the patient experience is always a positive one.