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UK scheme to improve quality and convenience of care closer to home

Health Care :: UK scheme to improve quality and convenience of care closer to home

UK Health Minister Andy Burnham published new guidance to help health bodies and practitioners deliver high quality convenient care closer to people's homes.

Under government plans, GPs and Pharmacists with special interests will need to go through a new rigorous and fair form of accreditation to ensure they have the necessary skills to deliver efficient and effective patient care in the community that was traditionally only available in hospitals.

By shifting services in this way, patients will wait less time and have shorter journeys for treatment, as well as having a greater choice and convenience about when and where they are treated.

Today's guidance, Implementing care closer to home - convenient quality care for patients, provides practical support to NHS commissioners for the provision of more specialised services delivered by PwSIs. It includes:

- an introduction to shifting services into the community;

- a step by step guide on the issues for consideration when redesigning patient care using PwSIs; and

- a new nationally recognised accreditation process for GPs and Pharmacists with special interests that can be delivered locally to ensure services and the individuals working within them are underpinned by excellent clinical governance.

Launching the guidance at a workshop in London, Health Minister Andy Burnham said:

"As part of the recent white paper listening exercise, patients told us that they wanted health services to be delivered closer to home. Thanks to advances in technology and medicine, it is now possible to provide increasing amounts of specialist services in more local and convenient settings.

"Practitioners with Special Interests, as well as other health professionals, all have a key role to play in delivering these services - taking the pressure off acute hospitals and providing high quality care to patients."

David Colin-Thome, the National Director for Primary care added:

"By introducing this new accreditation process our aim is to ensure GPs and Pharmacists with Special Interests and the services in which they work are safe, of a high quality and improve the patient experience and health outcomes in the communities in which they are located."

Professor Mayur Lakhani, Chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners and a practising GP, said:

"We support and welcome this initiative - the RCGP has long called for a system of standard setting and accreditation and this will help patient care, and support PCTs and practitioners."

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