11 February 2005
The government's push on preventative health will continue to take a back seat in the NHS as targets and incentives focus on more 'vote-winning' acute care, a think-tank warned this week.
Research from the King's Fund – Managing for health – found that targets for health promotion were considered to be far less important than those for acute priorities, such as waiting lists. NHS managers interviewed said it was clear that 'heads would roll' if they failed their accident and emergency targets, but there was not the same pressure for health promotion.
The report, by Professor David Hunter, claims that the swathe of new policies hitting the NHS – the general medical services contract, payment by results, practice-based commissioning and Patient Choice – are focused on 'refashioning' acute care and could undermine the government's public health drive.
The GMS contract, which rewards GPs for providing certain services, was seen as skewed towards chronic disease management, for example.
'NHS managers are struggling to take this agenda forward,' Hunter said. 'They feel they are piecing together a jigsaw policy with public health taking a back seat.'
The King's Fund is arguing for more profound cultural change in the NHS, not simply toughening targets.
PFfeb2005
