Background Information
In May 2005, the National Advisory Group on Service Change (2005) published its final report - Building A Health Service Fit For The Future (also know as the 'Kerr Report'). The group set out its vision of the NHS as:
"Our vision for the NHS is that it should deliver safe, high quality services that are as local as possible and as specialised as necessary"
The Executive issued its response to Building A Health Service Fit For The Future in the publication of Delivering for Health which generally endorsed the conclusions of the National Advisory Group.
Over the past few years new insights, evidence and experiences emerged, necessitating a refreshed strategy. In particular, there has been:
- New insights into the contribution of drug misuse, chronic liver disease, suicide and violence to premature deaths amongst young men.
- Emerging work from the Glasgow Centre for Population Health about the links between the social, psychological and biological causes of inequalities and the links between risks in early childhood and chronic disease in later life.
- Public concern about the over centralisation of services, particularly in the provision of emergency care.
- Learning from the actions we have taken already to implement the new model of healthcare.
- Rich information from patients and their carers about the way in which they would like services for people with long term conditions to be designed and delivered in future.
- A mature focus on the need to prioritise patient safety across our service.
These insights called for a new and different response better suited to meet these challenges. Following publication of Better Health, Better Care: A Discussion Document in August 2007 and a three month consultation period, a new health policy - Better Health, Better Care: Action Plan - was published in December 2007.