What is the National Health Service Plan?

The National Health Service is the government-funded public health care system in the United Kingdom. Implemented in 1948, the system ensures that all citizens can receive free health care. Recognizing the need to overhaul the failing system, the government consulted with the public, and found that people wanted major health care reform. Consequently, the National Health Service Plan was published in July 2000, laying out plans for investment and improvement.

Increases

• Determined to improve service availability, cut waiting lists and waiting times, provide more localized care, and modernize existing systems and facilities, there would be a 33 percent increase in funding between 2000 to 2005, resulting in 7,000 extra hospital beds, 100 new hospitals, 500 one-stop primary care centers, 3,000 general practitioner clinics modernized, 2,000 more doctors, 20,000 more nurses and 1,000 more medical schools.

Reforms

• Administrative reforms included the implementation of national standards, which would be strictly regulated. High performers would receive more autonomy, while under-performers would be subject to government intervention. Also reformed were doctors' contracts, which would be based on productivity and quality of service. Nurses were afforded the opportunity to increase their responsibilities, with 50 percent of them authorized to prescribe medications.

Benefits

• Patients would benefit from the reforms in three ways: improved preventative medicine, cancer, heart disease and mental health services; reduced waiting times for treatments, with doctor's appointments being available within 48 hours, and outpatient waiting times a maximum of three months; and improved services for the elderly, including free nursing homes.

Inequalities

• With vast disparities in available care, dependent upon geographic location and women and children receiving the worst level of services, targets to address inequalities included increased and improved primary care in deprived areas, the implementation of smoking cessation services, screening programs for all women and children and dietary improvements for 4- to 6-year-olds, with free fruit being available at schools.

Progress

• The National Health Service Plan is an evolving document, and it has been amended since its inception in 2000 to facilitate necessary changes and medical progression. While progress has not been as swift as promised, there have been improvements in most areas, due to the promised major injection of funding into the system. For example, it was stated that by 2010 there would be 100 new hospitals. In actuality, 69 new facilities are currently under development.