National Health Service

The National Health Service (NHS) is the publicly-funded healthcare system of the United Kingdom. The organisation provides the majority of healthcare in the UK, from general practitioners to Accident and Emergency Departments, long-term healthcare and dentistry.

Political Issues in England

The long-term future of the NHS and its day to day organisation are major issues in British politics, and the Secretary of State for Health is one of the senior positions in the British Cabinet. Though the Secretary of State and Department of Health (UK) deal with a much wider range of issues, the NHS dominates the department's remit and many government policies, such as anti-smoking and obesity campaigns are implemented by the NHS.

Related Topics:
British politics - Secretary of State for Health - British Cabinet - Department of Health (UK) - Smoking - Obesity

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In recent times, UK politicians have been trying to reduce waiting times for surgery and medical procedures. Although they have sometimes failed to meet some of the targets they have set, many contend that the NHS is respected worldwide, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4062067.stm as a role model for the welfare state.

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The NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT)? a large-scale project to renovate the use of Information Technology in the NHS in England (the Welsh equivalent is called Informing Healthcare) ? has been criticised for substantial budget over-runs, from £6 billion to a potential £30 billion, http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,39020645,39169940,00.htm. However this arises from confusion over the hardware and software procurement costs (the £6 billion) and the total costs of changing practices to use the new way of doing things that the IT investment is intended to support (the £30 billion). There has also been criticism of a perceived lack of adequate patient information security http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39173812,00.htm, but some of this has been poorly informed. The ability to deliver integrated high quality services will require care professionals to access sensitive medical data. This access must however be tightly controlled and in the NPfIT model it is, sometimes too tightly to allow the best care to be delivered. One of the main concerns is that GPs and hospital doctors have given the project a lukewarm reception, citing a lack of consultation and excessive complexity. http://www.computerweekly.com/Article136585.htm

Related Topics:
National Programme for IT - Information Technology - Informing Healthcare

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In 2005, Independent Sector Treatment Centres (ISTCs) will treat around 3% of NHS patients (in England) having routine elective surgery. By 2008 this is expected to be around 10%.http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1519575,00.html

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