| The NHS: a liberal blueprint |
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Norman Lamb The NHS is likely to be hit hard by the forthcoming period of fiscal austerity. This challenge is compounded by rising health costs in every developed economy. Norman Lamb highlights strategies for NHS reform to ensure that it is able to improve current healthcare provision and reduce costs. The key to reforming the NHS lies in transforming it from a centralised bureaucratic service to one that emphasises local accountability. This will enable it both to respond to the needs of local communities and control costs. Moreover, by setting patients and healthcare practitioners free, standards can be improved. The NHS: a liberal blueprint challenges some of the current approaches for improving efficiency and standards by providing insights from both the private and voluntary sectors and from existing examples of innovation taking place within the NHS to show more cost-effective ways of improving the service. It shows that a liberal approach can both cut costs and secure standards in an uncertain fiscal climate. |
