Information on Loughborough

60 years On and the Tories still oppose NHS reform

Posted on 01/07/2008
P. Klein

medical equipment

Charnwood Labour Party has joined people throughout the UK in

celebrating 60 years of the NHS. The NHS was established in 1947 by the

post war Labour Government, and was opposed by the medical establishment

and the Conservative Party.

60 years on 81% of the population have said that they are proud of the

NHS, according to the latest opinion polls. The principal of health

care, free at the point of delivery, is now established. In the last

decade life expectancy has gone up by an average of 5 years, and infant

mortality has fallen; testimony to the quality of health care that is

now taken for granted.

Eric Goodyer, Labours prospective parliamentary candidate for

Charnwood told inLoughborough "60 years old, what a great birthday party the NHS has had. But we must guard against those who would like to see a return to

fee based medicine"

Further Information:

The Next Stage Review has been a clinically-led local process.

Proposals for service changes are being developed and agreed locally,

based on the clinical evidence and the needs and preferences of the

local community. The Review will:

• Give patients even greater influence over the services they use by

guaranteeing choice and access to the most clinically and cost effective

drugs and treatments.

• Make healthcare more personal by ensuring that everyone with a

long-term condition has their own personalised care plan and by piloting

personal health budgets.

• Create an NHS that helps people to stay healthy by rolling out a new

national programme of vascular risk assessment for people aged between

40 and 74, and rewarding family doctors for focusing on prevention and

early intervention.

• Raise the standards on quality within the NHS by systematically

measuring and publishing information about the quality of care from the

frontline up.

• Foster a pioneering NHS by introducing new funds and prizes to support

and reward innovation, and developing new best practice tariffs targeted

on areas for improvement.

• Empower frontline staff by enabling them to lead and manage their

organisations and improving the quality of NHS education and training.