Health Minister sets out ‘personal’ NHS vision

In his first speech as Health Secretary, John Reid has said that he is determined to ensure that the NHS becomes a “more personal health service”.

The Minister described doctors, nurses and other NHS staff as the “largest army for good in Britain” and said meeting the needs of all patients was the benchmark of their success.

Speaking at the NHS Confederation's annual conference, Mr Reid outlined four basic principles which will underpin the ethos of the NHS under his stewardship:

• patient healthcare will be provided equally to those who need it, free at the point of need;
• the NHS will become a more personal service, focused on the needs of patients not providers;
• capacity will be increased, alongside an extension of personal choice for patients;
• equity - fairness - in the relief of pain and distress remains the cornerstone of NHS values.

Mr Reid confirmed the Government's commitment to the ten-year NHS Plan and reassured the NHS that there would be no change in the direction of the reforms begun by Alan Milburn.

Paying tribute to his predecessor, Mr Reid said the NHS had “turned a corner” and he was determined to build on these achievements in order to translate the radical policies of the NHS Plan into practical improvements on the ground.

However Mr Reid said the NHS had yet to fully meet the aim of providing equality of access to healthcare that was set out on its foundation in 1948. Inequality of access to services could only be overcome by making choice a reality for all patients across the country.

He said: "The challenge for us as we change the system is to extend choice to all, not to deny it to those who have it but to help every patient be an informed patient. To ensure that the choice and convenience of service does not depend either on where you live or how much you can afford.

"In all of our decisions, plans, calculations or debates, all of us should recognise that the NHS must become even more of a personal health service, truly patient centred. The principles of the NHS are defined around the need of the patients, not the needs of the providers.

"That's why we have plans, targets and objectives. They aren't the end in themselves; they are a means to an end - serving the patient.”

Mr Reid pledged that investment would be sustained, waiting times and lists would continue to fall, and that primary care would be rejuvenated.

He added that recruitment of more doctors and nurses would also continue.

(SP)