NHS Faces Huge Shake Up

The government has set out ambitious plans to give NHS patients more choice.

Under the new proposals, set out in the White Paper 'Equity and Excellence', England's 35,000 GPs will be organised into groups and given the budget to buy services for their patients. Primary Care Trusts will be abolished by 2013 and local authorities will play a greater part in making sure health and social services work closely together. Central to the reforms will be to give people more choice about where they will be treated which will include being registered with the GP of their choice. More information will be available to patients to help them make choices about their care, including success rates.

Nationally, a new independent consumer champion, HealthWatch England, will support the collective voice of patients through a network of local HealthWatch organisations.

More information can be found at http://www.dh.gov.uk

Helen Saarma from St Helens LINk has written a summary of the White Paper, which is attached.