24.01.12
Transforming care does not mean closing hospitals – Lansley
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has denied that smaller hospitals will need to close as services are reconfigured away from inpatient acute care and towards community and day cases.
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme to respond to NHS Confederation chief executive Mike Farrar, who made the point that some services are best provided in larger, specialist units, while others should shift into the community – meaning some smaller hospitals could have to close – Lansley said: “We are in a position this year, where, for example, the number of outpatient attendances at hospitals is down 0.8%, whereas in previous years it was rising; the number of unplanned admissions to hospitals is so far this year down 1.9%, whereas in previous years it was rising by over 3% in each year; the number of GP referrals to hospital is down so far this year by 3.1% whereas in the previous year it rose by over 3%, and the year before that by nearly 7%. So, the pattern of what is happening is precisely what ought to happen, which is, we are delivering more care close to home.
“Now, coming back to Mike Farrar’s point, does that mean hospital services have to re-shape; yes it does.”
Pressed to say whether this meant closing hospitals, Lansley responded: “No, not closing hospitals – but reshaping services in hospitals so there will be fewer inpatient requirements. We’re doing more day cases, we’re managing services in the community more effectively, we should expect to have fewer beds in hospitals, fewer patients having to be in bed overnight in hospitals.
“We should be in a position where we’re expecting hospitals to be managing the whole pathway of care for patients, including some of the community services, and I see hospitals doing exactly that. I see hospitals which have, for example, specialist nurses who are not just providing hospital services, they lead the care for patients with heart failure, for example.”
Farrar said reconfiguring care “can be better for patients, particularly those who make up the vast majority of NHS patients: older people with various long term conditions”. He added: “The overall impact in making these vital changes can be positive for patients. But we will only be able to do this if we can get ahead of the curve and take the public with us.”
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