How women’s clinics are transforming the NHS
Today, the NHS is undergoing a major transformation, as it prepares to shift to using more efficient and less expensive technology to deliver its essential services.
The change, which will be rolled out across England over the next few years, will mean hospitals will be able to use up to twice as much of their budget on patients and staff, and could open up more opportunities for patients to see a GP.
This is just the beginning, says Dr Sarah Halliday, director of the Women’s Health and Family Care Institute (WHICA).
“If the Government continues to take its eye off the ball, we’ll see some very dramatic changes in the NHS,” she says.
“In my opinion, it is time that we started thinking about what we do with the money that we have.”
The transformation, which has already begun in London, will be overseen by the National Health Service, which is responsible for all NHS funding.
A key part of the new plan is the roll-out of a new technology that will be used to provide information on how patients and their families will be treated in their care.
It will be called the “Hospital Connector”, a digital network that will help hospitals and GP surgeries communicate about patients, patients’ families and their health.
Dr Halliday says the new system will “bring our NHS in line with the rest of the world” and will help the NHS “get the best value for the money we pay for care”.
It is expected that it will be deployed in around 10 per cent of hospitals across the country, including the Midlands and the north-east.
Whilst the NHS will be using the new technology to inform itself on what to do with patients and family in the event of emergencies, Dr Halliday believes it will also be used by other services, such as schools and local government.
One of the key aims of the hospital connector is to “take care of the patient first” and to “make sure we are making sure we have the best outcomes for the patient”, she says, adding that hospitals should be given the power to take their own decisions about the patient’s care.
“This is really important because if we’re not getting the best possible outcomes, we’re going to miss out on the very best opportunities for people to have the most quality of life possible,” she explains.
Under the new model, the government will continue to fund the NHS in the way that it has historically done, with the same amount of funding allocated to the NHS as it has allocated to other NHS organisations, such the Department of Health.
But it will continue paying for the same proportion of services provided, including primary and community health, GP and social care, mental health and substance misuse, and cancer and stroke prevention.
The move comes after years of criticism of the way the NHS was run under the previous Conservative Government, with critics arguing that services had been cut, staffing levels had been reduced and the number of doctors and nurses had been slashed.
In response, the Government has promised to make savings and to prioritise some services in the future.
While Dr Halladay is confident that the changes will lead to a more efficient NHS, she says it is vital that “the Government continues listening to the voices of patients”.
“We have got to make sure we do our job properly, but also that we listen to the people who are affected by the cuts and their needs,” she concludes.
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Today, the NHS is undergoing a major transformation, as it prepares to shift to using more efficient and less expensive…
