Towards a national care service

The Prime Minister has pledged more choice, control and personalisation in health and social care.

Addressing an audience at health think-tank the King’s Fund this morning, Gordon Brown set out plans to expand the offer of care in the home and to provide dedicated one-to-one nursing for cancer patients.

The PM said the reforms would work towards creating an NHS which focuses more on prevention and early intervention.

“People want public services that are not take it or leave it, but personal to their needs; tailored to their aspirations and responsive to their choices and decisions about how they want to run their own lives.”

By accelerating reform, the PM aims to introduce new, legally enforcable NHS guarantees including:

• Cancer patients to see a specialist within two weeks of referral by a GP and cancer test results within one week
• All patients to be offered hospital treatment within no more than 18 weeks of seeing their GP
• All patients will be able to register with a GP open into evenings and weekends
• A regular healthcheck on the NHS for everyone over 40
• In the care system, all those with the highest needs being looked after in their own homes to receive free personal care

Earlier in the morning, the PM visited the Newham Community Centre where he met elderly and disabled people receiving support to continue living independently.

The PM said a new national care service would aim to extend the offer of care in the home.

“Choice, control and personalisation is not just something for the young - the choices people make later in their lives might be different, but the right to a choice, to personalised care is just as important if not more so.”