04.01.13
‘Long way to go’ with NHS – Cameron
Prime Minister David Cameron has said there is “still a long way to go” to raise standards of care in the NHS in England. He has highlighted the ‘Friends & Family’ test starting in April, and extra ward rounds in place.
An extra £13m will be spent on training health care assistants and a £50m fund will train all staff to provide better care for dementia patients.
Cameron told BBC 5 live: “We have an excellent NHS, with very high standards of nursing care in most of our hospitals, but recent examples – Stafford, Redditch, others – have shown that we have got a problem in some places.
“We still have a long way to go to raise standards across the NHS and get rid of those cases of poor and completely unacceptable care that blight some hospitals and homes. I want every hospital to give every patient the best possible care.
“We shouldn't underestimate the pressure the nurses are under. One in four beds now are filled with people with dementia. That's a huge change that's taken place in our country and our health service, so we need much more training to deal with people with dementia.
“So I don't underestimate the pressure nurses are under, and the difficulties of doing their job, but we do need a greater emphasis on standards of care and compassion in our hospitals and care homes.”
Louise Silverton, the Royal College of Midwives’ (RCM) director for midwifery, welcomed the introduction of the Friends and Family test and said: “It will lead to women choosing maternity units where they believe they will get high-quality maternity care or go for a home birth or to a midwife-led unit, if these are rated positively by other women. Peer-led information is just as important and significant as evidence-based research.”
NHS Confederation chief executive Mike Farrar said: “It’s good to see the prime minister personally getting behind this issue. And overall these plans add up to a sensible package with the new drive around the training of care assistants particularly welcome.
“We need to improve the way we gather feedback from patients and the friends-and-family test is a step forward. It's important however to take account of other measures and to build a rounded picture of care so organisations and patients are not responding to an unduly simplistic picture.”
Dean Royles, director of the NHS Employers organisation, said: “Employers are determined to ensure that they deliver high quality and compassionate care to patients. This increased investment in training and development is welcome and will help staff manage patients with dementia, surely one of the biggest challenges we face in the health service today.
“The renewed focus on supporting healthcare assistants to progress into nurse training is great news. This has always been a valuable way of supporting those with the ability and the right values to enter the nursing profession.
“Using champions and care makers whether on the wards, in the community or at home is a positive way of improving patient care and will complement what many employers are doing in local trusts. Evidence shows time and time again that engaged staff with the right training deliver better care for patients.”
But shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said: “If David Cameron really wants to give patients the best care, he should step in to support the NHS front-line, stop the job losses and ensure that every hospital in England has safe staffing levels.”
Tell us what you think – have your say below, or email us directly at [email protected]
Image c. World Economic Forum