High quality care for all NHS Next Stage Review - Antibiotic Action

High Quality Care For All – NHS Next Stage Review Final Report3927. It is because we believe that choicehas given more control to patientsand helped to develop services thatrespond to their expectations, thatwe will now put a stronger focuson extending choice in primaryand community care. In 1948, theGovernment informed members ofthe public that they had a choiceof GP. 67 People can indeed choosewhich GP practice to register with,but in some areas the degree ofchoice is still restricted by closedpatient lists, by practices saying theyare ‘open but full’, or by narrowpractice boundaries. We will supportthe local NHS, working with GPs, togive the public a greater and moreinformed choice, not just for GPservices but for the wider range ofcommunity health services.28. Providing greater choice of GP willmean developing fairer rewards forpractices that provide responsiveservices and attract more patients.At present, most GP practicesreceive historic income guaranteesthat do not necessarily bear relationto the size or needs of the patientpopulation they now serve, or thenumber of patients they see. Wewill work with GP representativesto manage the phase out of theseprotected income payments, so thatmore resources can go into providingfair payments based on the needs ofthe local population served by eachpractice.67 The New National Health Service, Central Officeof Information for the Ministry of Health,CrownCopyright (1948).Better information29. We want patients to make the rightchoices for themselves and theirfamilies. So we will empower themto make informed choices. Thefirst step towards this vision wastaken with the launch of the NHSChoices website, with a variety oflimited quality information (suchas Healthcare Commission ratingsand MRSA rates at an organisationlevel). 68 The next stage is to empowerpatients with clear information onthe quality of each service offered byevery NHS organisation – across allsettings of care.30. In practice, this means easy-tounderstand,service-specific,comparable information availableonline. The information will be onevery aspect of high quality care –on safety such as cleanliness andinfection rates, on experiences suchas satisfaction, dignity and respect,and on measures of outcomes thatinclude patients’ views on the successof treatments. Chapter 4 sets out inmore detail how we will do this. Andthe NHS Constitution will guaranteethat this information on quality willbe freely and openly available as wellas reliable.31. In primary care, we will continue todevelop the NHS Choices websiteto include more comparativeinformation about the range ofservices offered by GP practices,their opening times, the views oflocal patients, and their performance68 NHS Choices can be found at www.nhs.uk