Response to Lord Darzi’s announcement 8th May, 2008

08/05/2008

 

 

 

The Patients Association welcomes today’s findings of the next stage review and in particular the role of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees in this guidance. As elected representatives of the public they have an overriding duty to act decisively on behalf of those who elect them. Our concerns are that the reality in the NHS is that there is a culture of ignoring Government guidance.  If the NHS can be allowed to ignore Department of Health guidance on something as crucial as infection control, it seems unlikely that this guidance on change will be followed.

 

We welcome any recommendations from Lord Darzi will ensure the NHS is based on clinical excellence and the best treatment for patients; anything else is short term meddling and short changing patients.

 

Katherine Murphy, Director of Communications, said: “Consulting customers is always a good idea. However, in the NHS consultation is often meaningless because patients do not have all the information they need to offer a proper viewpoint. The result is that they are dismissed, and the customer view is absent once again.”

 

For more information please contact Katherine Murphy on 0208 423 9111 or 07779004898