A government minister said that more competition was needed in the National Health Service to improve inefficient and under-performing providers. Competition would come from other NHS hospitals, from foundation hospitals, and from the private sector.
Source: Speech by Patricia Hewitt MP (Secretary of State for Health), 13 December 2005
Links: Text of speech
Date: 2005-Dec
An article said that the government s National Health Service reform programme could lead to patients being charged for access to healthcare. New patient choice policies took no account of limited resources and funding, and were ultimately unsustainable without charging.
Source: Cam Donaldson and Danny Ruta, 'Should the NHS follow the American way?': Subtitle, British Medical Journal, 3 December 2005
Links: Extract | BMJ press release
Date: 2005-Dec
The government announced a two-year programme for the next stages of National Health Service reform. Financial reforms would continue to tackle deficits and ensure better value for money; fairer funding would go to deprived areas, enabling family doctors in the areas of the greatest health inequalities to commission services to improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities; and continued use would be made of the private sector to achieve waiting list reductions.
Source: Health Reform in England: Update and next steps, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report | Text of speech | DH press release
Date: 2005-Dec
An article said that the government s use of private healthcare in the National Health Service was a much more open and aggressive version of the 'internal market' tried by the Conservatives in the 1990s.
Source: Nicholas Timmins, 'Use of private health care in the NHS', British Medical Journal, 12 November 2005
Links: Abstract | BMJ press release
Date: 2005-Nov
An article compared the welfare costs of increasing subsidies for public and private healthcare. The burden on the tax system was much larger for expanding public healthcare.
Source: Ian Parry, 'Comparing the welfare effects of public and private health care subsidies in the United Kingdom', Journal of Health Economics, Volume 24 Issue 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Nov
An article said that there was no strong theoretical or empirical support for extending competition and choice in healthcare
: but that there were cases where competition had improved outcomes.
Source: Carol Propper, Deborah Wilson and Simon Burgess, Extending Choice In English Health Care: The implications of the economic evidence, Working Paper 05/133, Centre for Market and Public Organisation/University of Bristol (0117 954 6943)
Links: Working paper (pdf)
Date: 2005-Oct
The Scottish Executive set out its priorities for the National Health Service over the coming decade, based on recommendations made by the Kerr Group. Healthcare services across Scotland would focus more on preventative and continuous care in local communities, and resources would be targeted on those with the greatest risk of ill-health.
Source: Delivering for Health, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report (pdf) | Kerr report | SE press release
Date: 2005-Oct
A pamphlet by the Secretary of State for Health described the government's priorities for health in its third term, and sought to place those priorities in the context of the Labour Party's guiding values. It put the case for greater choice for patients and a sustained effort to reduce inequalities.
Source: Patricia Hewitt MP, The Nation's Health and Social Change, New Health Network (020 7407 1618)
Links: Introduction | Summary
Date: 2005-Sep
A think-tank report said that the government needed to broaden its focus away from driving down waiting times to ensuring that the National Health Service delivered equal treatment for patients in equal need of it.
Source: Anthony Harrison and John Appleby, The War on Waiting for Hospital Treatment: What has Labour achieved and what challenges remain?, King s Fund (020 7307 2591)
Links: Summary (pdf) | King's Fund press release
Date: 2005-Aug
A new book examined the formation of healthcare policy - how issues got on to policy agendas, how policy-makers treated evidence, and why some policy initiatives were implemented while others were not.
Source: Kent Buse, Nick Mays and Gill Walt, Making Health Policy, Open University Press (01280 823388)
Links: Summary
Date: 2005-Aug
A new book examined market-driven reforms in the National Health Service. It said that the reforms were prioritizing profits at the expense of equity and comprehensive care for all.
Source: John Lister, Health Policy Reform - Driving the Wrong Way?, Middlesex University Press (020 8411 5734)
Links: Summary | Guardian review
Date: 2005-Jul
A new book addressed the sociological issues surrounding key healthcare policy questions, including: the social distribution of knowledge; the basis of professional power; and sources of social inequalities in health.
Source: Mike Sheaff, Sociology and Health Care, Open University Press (01280 823388)
Links: Summary
Date: 2005-Jul
A book chapter examined healthcare policy under the Labour governments since 1997.
Source: Rudolf Klein, 'Transforming the NHS: the story in 2004', Social Policy Review 17: Analysis and debate in social policy, 2005, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2005-Jun
A book chapter examined the healthcare policy prescriptions put forward by think tanks.
Source: Sally Ruane, 'The future of health care in the UK: think-tanks and their policy prescriptions', Social Policy Review 17: Analysis and debate in social policy, 2005, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2005-Jun
A think-tank report described the problems associated with the current methods of funding and provision of healthcare. It called for new sources of funding, and new forms of managed competition, that could deliver healthcare through an innovative and diverse array of providers.
Source: Michael Goldsmith and David Gladstone, The Roadmap to Reform: Health, Adam Smith Institute (020 7222 4995)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jun
An updated guide was published to social and health policy and policy-making in Scotland. It gave a comprehensive overview of recent policies and health-related initiatives implemented by the Scottish and United Kingdom governments, and by the European Union.
Source: Peter Taylor, Understanding the Policy Maze: A guide to social and health policy in Scotland, Health Education Board for Scotland, available from NHS Health Scotland (fax: 0131 536 5501)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jun
The Department of Health published its annual report for 2004-05.
Source: Departmental Report 2005, Cm 6524, Department of Health, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | Report (pdf links)
Date: 2005-Jun
The Welsh Assembly government published a 10-year strategy for health and social care in Wales. The strategy was designed to promote the health and well-being of Welsh people through engagement with frontline staff, service users and the public; and through an evidence-based strategy linked to innovation and a commitment to best practice.
Source: Designed for Life: Creating world class health and social care for Wales in the 21st century, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2080 1033)
Links: Report (pdf) | WAG press release
Date: 2005-May
An article compared health systems in the United Kingdom and the United States, in relation to levels and types of finance and provision. It identified cultural and other obstacles that had to be addressed in translating practices from one system to another.
Source: Chris Ham, 'Lost in translation? Health systems in the US and the UK', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 39 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Apr
A study examined whether increased choice would improve outcomes in education and healthcare. It concluded that a successful choice policy in education would improve standards for most school students, and might mean that the working class gained and the middle class lost, as the house price premium from living near a good school was reduced. In healthcare, hospitals might react by merging, thereby reducing the benefits of competition.
Source: Simon Burgess, Carol Propper and Deborah Wilson, Choice: Will more choice improve outcomes in education and health care? - The evidence from economic research, Centre for Market and Public Organisation/University of Bristol (0117 954 6943)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Mar
The Labour Party published its election manifesto on health. It pledged to increase patient choice, introduce a maximum 18-week wait for hospital treatment, and increase the number of operations carried out in the private sector.
Source: Waiting Times: Forward not Back, Labour Party (08705 900200)
Links: Manifesto (pdf) | King's Fund press release | NHS Confed press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Mar
The opposition Conservative party published its manifesto plans on health. It said that it would abolish all waiting lists in the National Health Service, and all central performance targets for hospitals.
Source: Action on Health, Conservative Party (020 7222 9000)
Links: Manifesto (pdf) | NHS Confederation press release | National Aids Trust press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Feb
