UK government consults on primary care
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《英国医生杂志》
The views of thousands of people on primary care are to be gathered by the Department of Health later this summer in a consultation exercise. These views will help to inform a white paper, to be published at the turn of the year.
Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, said that this would be a "major public engagement exercise" to help shape the future of all NHS services provided outside hospitals, including GPs' surgeries, walk-in centres, and social and community care.
Doctors and other staff groups will be invited to "briefing events" before September to express their views and listen to how the public consultation will work, a process that they will also be able to feed into as members of the public themselves.
Speaking to a conference in London last week—Britain Speaks: Effective Public Engagement and Better Decision Making—Ms Hewitt said, "I want to genuinely involve patients, public, and staff in designing family health and social care to meet the challenges of the 21st century. This will be a major, large scale deliberative event taking place at the local, regional, and national level—beyond anything the government has embarked upon before in the health field."
The Department of Health will go out to tender for a private company to organise the public engagement part of the exercise, but it is envisaging holding town hall meetings, an approach sometimes used in the United States.
"I know that some people say the public aren't interested in going to lots more meetings," added Ms Hewitt. "What they want is really good services that they don't have to worry about. That's true, but only partly true. Of course, people don't want to go to boring meetings, listen to speeches, and feel they haven't been listened to themselves. But I'm increasingly struck by how many people do want to be involved. They know, as we should know, that they are the real experts in their own lives and their own communities."
Ms Hewitt said that the government would build on its experience in engaging the public in other initiatives such as Sure Start, the New Deal for Communities, and tackling anti-social behaviour.
A spokesperson for the BMA's General Practitioners Committee said, "We will be using every opportunity to contribute to the consultation surrounding the forthcoming white paper on family health services. No one is better placed than the family doctor to coordinate the care of patients in the community. The UK system of GP practices, with registered lists of patients, has proved itself to be both cost effective and adaptive to change."
The Department of Health said that a consultation document would be put on its website in the next few weeks.(Adrian O'Dowd)
Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, said that this would be a "major public engagement exercise" to help shape the future of all NHS services provided outside hospitals, including GPs' surgeries, walk-in centres, and social and community care.
Doctors and other staff groups will be invited to "briefing events" before September to express their views and listen to how the public consultation will work, a process that they will also be able to feed into as members of the public themselves.
Speaking to a conference in London last week—Britain Speaks: Effective Public Engagement and Better Decision Making—Ms Hewitt said, "I want to genuinely involve patients, public, and staff in designing family health and social care to meet the challenges of the 21st century. This will be a major, large scale deliberative event taking place at the local, regional, and national level—beyond anything the government has embarked upon before in the health field."
The Department of Health will go out to tender for a private company to organise the public engagement part of the exercise, but it is envisaging holding town hall meetings, an approach sometimes used in the United States.
"I know that some people say the public aren't interested in going to lots more meetings," added Ms Hewitt. "What they want is really good services that they don't have to worry about. That's true, but only partly true. Of course, people don't want to go to boring meetings, listen to speeches, and feel they haven't been listened to themselves. But I'm increasingly struck by how many people do want to be involved. They know, as we should know, that they are the real experts in their own lives and their own communities."
Ms Hewitt said that the government would build on its experience in engaging the public in other initiatives such as Sure Start, the New Deal for Communities, and tackling anti-social behaviour.
A spokesperson for the BMA's General Practitioners Committee said, "We will be using every opportunity to contribute to the consultation surrounding the forthcoming white paper on family health services. No one is better placed than the family doctor to coordinate the care of patients in the community. The UK system of GP practices, with registered lists of patients, has proved itself to be both cost effective and adaptive to change."
The Department of Health said that a consultation document would be put on its website in the next few weeks.(Adrian O'Dowd)