The Health Secretary of the UK Patricia Hewitt, will call for better financial management of clinical objectives, and also call for a halt to the existing handout culture. As per the new system that she is calling for, the survival of the health trusts will depend upon their capacity to attract patients. The first rulebook which is expected to be issued soon to the NHS managers which will seek to put an end to financial deficits. Clinical objectives will take the second place when compared to financial management.
The handout culture is responsible for the losses incurred by the trusts in the 2005-2006 year. There has been an overspending of £948 million for the half-year period alone. Emergency measures aimed at scaling down expenditure are also being resorted to. The new measures proposed by the Health Secretary are also likely to result in instability where the services are concerned. Most of the hospitals are reported to have functioned inefficiently as they relied upon the support of the NHS. Many hospitals are now expected to lose income if they fail to attract sufficient number of patients.Seriously ill patients will however be exempted from the national tariff policy. The NHS will also be required to reduce the demand for highly expensive treatments in hospitals. Patients will also be trained in self-care with regard to chronic conditions like multiple sclerosis, diabetes, asthma, and arthritis. Emergencies can be avoided by such patients if they are taught to take care of themselves better.
The program is based on the self-care plan in practice in the US, and trials of this plan have already been conducted in different parts of the UK. The trials resulted in a 7% fall in the GP consultations over a period of six months. The patients have also gained greater confidence when it came to taking care of themselves.
