23.05.13
NHS must be patient-centric – The King’s Fund
The NHS must move away from meeting externally imposed standards and targets and focus on quality of care and the patient, a new report argues.
The King’s Fund has published ‘Patient-centred leadership’, summarising the main findings of the Francis Inquiry into failings at Mid Staffordshire. It focuses on the role of frontline clinical teams, the boards leading the NHS and national organisations responsible for overseeing commissioning, regulation and provision of care.
The report recommends giving local organisations the freedom to deliver consistently high standards of care, and quality of care should be a corporate responsibility under NHS boards. Leaders must be patient-centred and value frontline staff, abandoning an individualistic model of leadership.
NHS Confederation chief operating officer Matt Tee said: “The NHS is a huge and complex organisation, and changing its culture is not achievable overnight. Nevertheless, it is very worrying that such a significant proportion of respondents to the King's Fund survey think the NHS does not sufficiently prioritise quality of care.
“Delivering the best possible care is the core business of everyone working in the NHS, from the most senior surgeon to the part-time secretary, at the board and on the ward.
“The NHS needs first class leadership which inspires, engages and supports everyone in it – managers and clinicians, board members and frontline staff – to deliver the quality health care that patients deserve and have the right to expect.”
Sir Richard Thompson, president of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), said: “Clinicians desperately want to provide high quality care, but problems with systems and resources can often make it difficult for doctors and nurses to treat their patients well.
“Patient pathways must be designed around patients’ needs, and we should understand that these needs are changing. It is time for new ways of thinking, with fresh ideas such as recruiting one or more patients to trust boards to improve quality.”
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