Written question asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Earl Howe (Conservative) on Wednesday, 26 January 2011.

NHS: Reform

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the planned National Health Service reforms will affect patient–doctor relationships.

Answer: The White Paper Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS (July 2010) set out the Government’s vision of a patient-centred National Health Service. Patients should expect there to be ““no decision about me without me””, with greater choice and access to information that helps them be fully involved in decisions about their care. A more active role for patients represents a significant change to the relationship that many patients have with their doctor. The Government consulted on how to support this change in Liberating the NHS: Greater Choice and Control. This consultation closed on 14 January and the Government will publish their response in due course. The first duty of doctors and other clinicians will always be providing high-quality care to their patients. They will be helped to do this by a new focus on improving outcomes, the removal of top-down targets that do not benefit patient care and greater freedom to innovate and improve. Commissioning by general practitioners (GPs) will further strengthen the relationship between patients and the NHS. The Health and Social Care Bill places legal duties on GP consortia and the new NHS Commissioning Board about promoting the involvement of patients and their carers in decisions about their services and enabling patients to make choices.

Secondary information