UK government places health focus on quality

20 January 2011

Posted by Jayne Kavanagh

Quality will be at the heart of future strategies for healthcare in the UK, it has been claimed.

New plans have been unveiled by the Government to modernize the current service, improve choice, enhance care and boost patient outcomes.

In the Health and Social Care Bill 2011, ministers proposed providing GP-led groups with greater responsibility and increasing accountability in the system.

Proposed changes include a programme of continuous improvement and supporting independent regulation by creating a new watchdog.

Measures are also intended to generate savings across the National Health Service of more than £5 billion by 2014-15.

"It is critical for the service to keep its focus and purpose of improving quality for patients and to make the reforms a foundation for improvement," said Sir David Nicholson, Chief Executive of the NHS.

In related news, a £20 million project will combine the expertise of the Department of Health, the Ministry of Defence, the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham to share medical research innovation and clinical practice relating to major trauma.