DH on tour to hear opinions of White Paper
Released 06/09/2010
Ministers travel England listening to staff views
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley and his ministerial team have been touring England to hear first-hand the views of staff, patients and local communities on the NHS White Paper ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS', according to the Department of Health.
They will also be visiting health services already running on the some of the principles set-out in the White Paper to see how they have been getting on.
The White Paper set out ambitious plans to devolve power from the government to patients and GPs. As part of this process, local NHS organisations are holding a series of events around the country to discuss the White Paper proposals and consult on how to implement them.
Lansley commented: "The NHS is vital to everyone; a key part of our sense of security and social solidarity. The principles it was founded on are as important now as they were then: free at the point of use and available to everyone based on need, not ability to pay. But we believe that it can be so much better - for both patients and professionals.
"Our ambition is to make health outcomes in England amongst the best in the world. This can only be achieved by empowering the health professionals to design the best services for patients, and by involving patients in the decisions made about their care.
"That's why, as part of our ongoing consultation process, my ministerial team and I will visit every SHA region to listen first-hand to those who deliver and access the services that we all want to see improved. We're also looking forward to witnessing some fantastic examples of how handing back power to clinicians can deliver huge benefits to patients and the NHS."
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