New body aims to give public a bigger voice in shaping health care
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《英国医生杂志》
Doctors and professional bodies should expect a "challenging relationship" with a new patients?watchdog body whose goal is to make the NHS in England more accountable to and more reflective of the needs of the public.
Speaking last week at the launch of the new Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, which takes over from the now defunct community health councils, its chairwoman, Sharon Grant, warned that doctors and managers must take heed of patients?power. She said the NHS, which was "designed for a paternalistic society 50 years ago," needs to change.
"There has to be a new dialogue between the NHS and its users. The survival of the NHS depends on involving the patients and public. If the NHS fails to establish a new dialogue it will lose their confidence and support, and they are the ones who pay and vote for it ."
The commission will oversee the new network of independent complaints advocacy services, which will take over the main role of the old community health councils.
It will also supervise and oversee the 572 patient and public involvement forums across England that will scrutinise and inspect all local NHS organisations and independent sector organisations providing NHS services.
It will collect and promote information gathered by the forums and evaluate the performance of the forums. As a national body it will advise the health secretary about major issues and—one of its most significant jobs—ensure that the NHS and other healthcare providers take proper account of the views of patients and the public, nationally and locally.
Ms Grant told its inaugural meeting in east London, which was attended by members of over 100 new patients?forums from across England, that it heralded a new relationship with doctors.
Under the old system of accountability community health councils had a right to enter and inspect hospitals. Now, Mrs Grant said, the forums will also be able to enter and inspect primary care premises, a legal right the old network did not have.
However, the commission agreed that it was vital that the new system was not "hijacked" by single interest groups and that the forums should be as inclusive as possible, particularly in areas with a high number of people from ethnic minority groups.
And Jennifer Popay, professor of sociology and public health at Lancaster University and one the body抯 10 commissioners, told reporters that professional bodies were still a "barrier to change" and that they should expect a "challenging relationship" with the new body as it strives to give the public a more influential voice in shaping health care.
"Maybe the relationship we have will represent a serious challenge to the most powerful professional groups," she said.
Junior health minister Rosie Winterton attended the launch and gave her backing to the new system. She paid tribute to the work of the community health councils and said she was glad that some 25% of the councils?staff now worked in the new forums.
But in a hint that the public must take more responsibility for rationing NHS resources she said the challenge for the new forums was "how to make local people really understand about individual decisions that are made at a local level and what choices there are about local services and treatment."(London Mark Gould)
Speaking last week at the launch of the new Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, which takes over from the now defunct community health councils, its chairwoman, Sharon Grant, warned that doctors and managers must take heed of patients?power. She said the NHS, which was "designed for a paternalistic society 50 years ago," needs to change.
"There has to be a new dialogue between the NHS and its users. The survival of the NHS depends on involving the patients and public. If the NHS fails to establish a new dialogue it will lose their confidence and support, and they are the ones who pay and vote for it ."
The commission will oversee the new network of independent complaints advocacy services, which will take over the main role of the old community health councils.
It will also supervise and oversee the 572 patient and public involvement forums across England that will scrutinise and inspect all local NHS organisations and independent sector organisations providing NHS services.
It will collect and promote information gathered by the forums and evaluate the performance of the forums. As a national body it will advise the health secretary about major issues and—one of its most significant jobs—ensure that the NHS and other healthcare providers take proper account of the views of patients and the public, nationally and locally.
Ms Grant told its inaugural meeting in east London, which was attended by members of over 100 new patients?forums from across England, that it heralded a new relationship with doctors.
Under the old system of accountability community health councils had a right to enter and inspect hospitals. Now, Mrs Grant said, the forums will also be able to enter and inspect primary care premises, a legal right the old network did not have.
However, the commission agreed that it was vital that the new system was not "hijacked" by single interest groups and that the forums should be as inclusive as possible, particularly in areas with a high number of people from ethnic minority groups.
And Jennifer Popay, professor of sociology and public health at Lancaster University and one the body抯 10 commissioners, told reporters that professional bodies were still a "barrier to change" and that they should expect a "challenging relationship" with the new body as it strives to give the public a more influential voice in shaping health care.
"Maybe the relationship we have will represent a serious challenge to the most powerful professional groups," she said.
Junior health minister Rosie Winterton attended the launch and gave her backing to the new system. She paid tribute to the work of the community health councils and said she was glad that some 25% of the councils?staff now worked in the new forums.
But in a hint that the public must take more responsibility for rationing NHS resources she said the challenge for the new forums was "how to make local people really understand about individual decisions that are made at a local level and what choices there are about local services and treatment."(London Mark Gould)