New Publications from the Department of Health

Following the consultation Liberating the NHS: Greater Choice and Control the Department have published A Summary of Responses.

Building upon this initial 13 week consultation, is Liberating the NHS: No Decision about Me, Without Me which is proposing a model of shared decision-making all along the patient pathway, irrespective of a patients’ condition, clinical pathway or progress along it. The model indicates where patients would be expected to have more say in decisions about their primary care; before a diagnosis; at referral to secondary care and after a diagnosis has been made. This consulation will run for eight weeks from 23 May 2012 until 20 July 2012. Responses for this consultation are welcomed and may be sent:

•    on-line at http://consultations.dh.gov.uk/choice/choice-future-proposals,
•    by email to choice@dh.gsi.gov.uk
•    or by post to the Choice Team, Department of Health, Room 4N11, Quarry House, Leeds, LS2 7UE.

The Department of Health has also published The Power of Information which sets a ten-year framework for transformation information for the NHS, public health and social care. The focus of the strategy is on improving access to information, including a commitment that people will be able to access their GP records on-line in 2015. Other ambitions are for test results to be available electronically and the people will be able to book or re-arrange their medical appointments on-line.

In addition the Government has published the information strategy for health and care in England - The Power of Information: Putting all of us in Control of the Health and Care Information we need - which:

• Responds to Liberating the NHS: An Information Revolution consultation
• Builds on important and independent reports on information from the NHS Future Forum, co-chaired by Professor David Haslam and Jeremy Taylor
• Sets out the huge potention for improved information to drive more joined-up health and care, and make a reality of ‘no decision about me without me’.
• Highlights new technologies to deliver high quality, more personalised care and more convenient transactions e.g. ordering prescriptions.
• Focused on how to ensure information supports the new system, enabling local leaders to deliver the ambitions set out in the Outcomes Frameworks for the NHS, puclic health and social care.

The information strategy, together with the impact assessment, the equality analysis and an Easy Read version, is published on the DH website and also online through The Power of Information link above.

You may also be interested in the Cabinet Office’s current call for evidence to understand whether there is value in enshrining in legislation a right to choice as part of the open publuc services agenda. For more information please visit http://consultation.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ops-calltoevidence.