New recommendations from the NHS Future Forum accepted by the Government

Earlier this month the NHS Future Forum submitted it’s second report to Health Secretary Andrew Lansley. The report sets out a series of recommendations to improve the quality of patient care and achieve better outcomes. The recommendations which have been accepted by the Government are based  on feedback from the coversations ‘conducted’ with health and care professionals, patients and service users and to provide independent advice on education and training, information, integrated care, and the NHS’s role in the public’s health.

Highlights for the recommendations include:

• Education and training: Employers and professionals will have a greater say in developing the health workforce in the future, such as through local plans. And for the first time the Government will introduce an outcomes framework for education and training.
• Integrated care: The Government fully accepts the need to orientate the whole health system around patients. So for the first time, patient experience of integrated care will be measured as part of the Outcomes Framework.
• The NHS’s role in the public’s health: Following the Forum’s recommendation on ‘every contact counts’, the Government will consult on a new responsibility for healthcare professionals to promote healthy living through their daily contact with patients.
• Information: The Government will consider the Forum’s recommendation for discharge summaries being made available to GPs and patients at the point of discharge, as part of the Information Strategy published later this year.

Read more on the new recommendations from the NHS Future Forum and download the full Government response.