Thursday 10 December 2009

Bedtime reading: NHS 2010-2015: from good to great - gives a plug to home dialysis

Andy Burnham, Secretary of State for Health, launched this 5 year plan which maps out the journey of improvement that's going to be required to make the step change from good to great. It aims to give people working in the NHS a clear direction and time to plan for the quality and productivity challenge we face. There is a strong steer on prevention, patient engagement is highlighted and the NHS staff are acknowledged as its greatest asset.

There is an emphasis on care closer to home and "the tariffs payment system must incentivise the shift for care out of hospital settings if this is what patients want". Home dialysis is cited as a good example where quality and efficiency come together. From good to great identifies the need to link payment systems to whole pathways of care so that long term conditions like kidney disease can be managed across the whole local health environment.