16.02.12
Commission on the Future Hospital launched to improve care
Over a quarter of physicians believe that continuity of care is poor in their hospital, according to a new survey by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). Results showed that 27% believe their hospital is either poor or very poor at delivering consistent medical teams for patient care.
In order to identify the best way to treat patients in the future, the president of the RCP is setting up a Commission on the Future Hospital, to look at organisation, processes and standards of care in hospitals.
The Commission will be chaired by Professor Sir Michael Rawlins and will begin work in March. It will concentrate on five work streams:
People (medical teams, handover, communication)
Data (patient records, medical information, audit)
Place (medical wards, the patient pathway, generalists and specialists)
Planning infrastructure (radiology, laboratory , pharmacy and support staff, interfaces with community and primary care)
Patients and compassion (leadership and responsibility, MDTs, end of life care)
The main areas of care physicians highlighted for improvement include ensuring a high quality of care seven days a week, continuity of care and stable medical teams for patient care.
Professor Rawlins said: “As the Commission begins, it will be able to take into account the changes to the commissioning and care delivery processes of the NHS arising from the Health and Social Care Bill, and the conclusions of the Francis Inquiry, both of which will underpin our work in improving care for the medical patient.”
Sir Richard Thompson, RCP president, said: “We plan that the report will be presented to RCP Council in the Spring of 2013, but our work will not end at that point, it will have only just begun. Our challenge will be to implement the recommendations against a background of financial stringency and an NHS in the grip of reorganisation.”
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