19.12.13
NHS Confederation calls for clarity on seven-day care
A whole-system approach is needed to introduce seven-day care, the NHS Confederation has urged.
The organisation is calling for reform to ensure patients with multiple, long-term and complex conditions are given appropriate care and greater use of local and community services.
The Keogh Report set out how seven-day care should be introduced, but the NHS Confederation stated that trusts will be coping with winter demand and need better coordination and strong leadership to implement these changes safely.
There is still “some uncertainty” over how this will happen, Dr Johnny Marshall, policy director, said.
He added: “The pressure on A&E services – and therefore across the whole system – is increasing, in particular during winter, when patients attending A&Es present more acute symptoms and a number of complex conditions. As a consequence, trusts are finding it harder to meet waiting time targets, with an impact in terms of increased admissions and reduced capacity for swift discharges.
“It's time to end the ‘sticking plaster’ mentality and for all parts of the health service to work together to find solutions. This will only come about if there is better targeted resources, as part of a whole system approach, to support wider access to local and community services over seven days.
“Stepping up to the challenge will require new ways of working, providers working more closely with commissioners, and NHS England working more closely with CCGs, to make sure money is allocated fairly to parts of the country that need it the most, but it can be achieved if we work together as one integrated national health service.”
The NHS needs to be bold to significantly change the way services are run, Marshall said, which will involve everyone who works in the health service, not just some consultant doctors.
“With all of this comes increased costs, and it is unclear how these will be met. Financial sustainability is of particular concern to smaller acute providers, such as district general hospitals, who are struggling more than larger trusts to implement the required financial and operational changes.
“If in some trusts implementing seven-day care causes significant difficulties then it seems counterproductive to be imposing financial penalties on hospitals that are already struggling. We urge NHS England to take this into consideration, and clarify which support measures will be put in place for all providers who will need assistance in their transition to seven-day services.”
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