Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley has set out the Government's plans to reform the NHS during this Parliament and for the long-term.
The White Paper ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’, details how power will be devolved from Whitehall to patients and professionals.
The reforms are designed to give patients more choice and control and ensure that services are more responsive to patients and designed around them.
Under the new plans, patients will be able to choose which GP practice they register with, regardless of where they live, and choose between consultant-led teams. Groups of GPs will be given freedom and responsibility for commissioning care for their local communities.
Providers of services will have new freedoms and they will be more accountable. There will be greater competition in the NHS and greater cooperation. Services will be more joined up, supported by a new role for Local Authorities to support integration across health and social care.
As a result of the changes, the NHS will be streamlined with Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts being phased out.
The Government is consulting on how best to implement these changes and the Department of Health would welcome comments on the implementation of the proposals requiring primary legislation, and will publish a response to the views raised on the White Paper and the associated papers, prior to the introduction of the Bill. Comments should be emailed by 5th October 2010
or:
White Paper team
Room 601
Department of Health
79 Whitehall
London SW1A 2NS
The white paper can be accessed via the Department of Health website.