Earlier this month, the government announced that it would be abolishing NHS England. This sounds dramatic, but what does it really mean?
NHS England is not the same as the NHS. The NHS is the nationwide healthcare system that provides medical services to patients across the country through a network of hospitals, GP surgeries, walk-in centres and minor injury units as well as many other services.
NHS England is a separate, independent administrative organisation, established in 2012, which oversees the provision of government funding to health services and the implementation of government health priorities.
The government has reached the conclusion that this body has become too unwieldy and excessively bureaucratic, slowing down innovation, costing money which could be better spent more directly on patients and duplicating work and decision-making.
Over the next two years, the work of NHS England will be absorbed into the Department of Health and Social Care, giving greater governmental control of the NHS, whilst also giving more power and autonomy to regional health boards and leaders.
In the long-term, the government is hoping that this structural change will reduce waiting times, free up money and allow for swifter innovation and more flexible responses to local priorities and needs.
In the meantime, however, it is important for patients to know that their right of access to healthcare services is not changing, whether in the GP surgery or at the hospital.
Crucially, the patient’s right to compensation when their healthcare goes wrong is not changing either.
If you or a loved one have been the victim of negligent medical care, contact us here at Glynns to talk to a solicitor about the possibility of claiming compensation.
Please call us on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
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