David Cameron to outline future for the NHS

Prime Minister David Cameron will today make a major speech on the future of healthcare in the United Kingdom in which he will suggest that the NHS must reform or the country as a whole will suffer. The Coalition have announced a radical shakeup of healthcare within the UK and have pledged increased health budgets, at a time when most departments face a cut, to enable these reforms to be put into practice.

"We have fallen behind the rest of Europe. We are more likely to die of cancer or heart disease. We shouldn't be aiming for second best."  Claiming that the UK has fallen behind other European nations in terms of standards and achievements the PM asserts that the NHS currently has little incentive to improve and that the new reforms will do more than simply re-badge the service, which was a feature of the last administration.

He has also dismissed claims that the reforms are too much, too soon suggesting that there is an appetite for reform within the medical profession.

Later this week ministers will publish legislation to changes the health service. Within this there are plans to scrap PCT's (Primary Care Trusts) and health authorities and that power over decisions and financial control will be handed to GP consortiums. The Government will present the Bill as a milestone in its reform agenda, but some experts have cast doubt that doctors' will be willing or able to take on new responsibilities. Mr Cameron counters however by saying that 141 GP consortiums – covering half of the country – have now volunteered to pilot the reforms.

Later in the year, the Government will publish a White Paper on yet more reforms calling for an injection of third party expertise outlining ambitious plans for charities, private companies and community groups to fund, run and in some cases even own some public services. The move is designed to break up the public sector's traditional monopoly on running services, new rules will dictate that in future a fixed proportion of services must be provided by "non-state providers". All of this harks back to Mr Cameron's "Big Society" concept. A concept that calls upon individuals and communities take more responsibility requiring the state to do less.

Patient Opinion have been at the forefront of this type of concept for the last five years - Patient Opinion is a not for profit Social Enterprise and our ethos is all about enabling patients to share their experiences of health care, and by doing so help other patients, and perhaps even change the NHS. Since our launch in 2005 we have received and collated over 45,000 patient stories and as a result of this have enabled subscribing bodies to receive feedback on their services. Some might say that we were already ahead of the government on the need for supporting the NHS from outside the state sector! To learn more about us click here