皇冠体育app

Responding to the Co-operation and Competition Panel鈥檚 report on patient choice in the NHS

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has today protected patient choice in the NHS by banning Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) from enforcing minimum waiting times on referrals and putting in place caps on operations that do not take account of the healthcare needs of individual patients.

By March 2012 at the latest, all PCTs will be expected to have removed these unfair restrictions which limit patient choice and pro-long unnecessary suffering for patients. All decisions that could impact on patient choice must now be taken at PCT Board-level and must be made public.

This follows an investigation by the Co-operation and Competition Panel into the implementation of patient choice in the NHS.听 Andrew Lansley asked the panel to advise on any instances where PCTs were not acting in the best interests of patients or the taxpayer.

皇冠体育app ensuing report in July this year flagged a number of examples where PCTs were unfairly restricting patient choice.
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Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said:

鈥淭his is just the beginning of a range of measures we hope to introduce to make the NHS truly patient focused. I want a health service that works around patients - not the other way around.

鈥淧CTs have to manage resources carefully but they must do so without restricting patient choice. That鈥檚 why I am taking firm action today and banning these unfair measures imposed on patients.

鈥淥ur plans to modernise the NHS will go even further. 皇冠体育app Bill puts a duty on doctors and nurses responsible for designing local health services, to protect and promote patient choice as far as possible.鈥�

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Notes for Editors:
For media enquiries please ring the Department of Health newsdesk on 0207 210 5221.

皇冠体育app Co-operation and Competition Panel鈥檚 report on patient choice in the NHS is available via the .

皇冠体育app full response by the Department to each of the recommendations is available via the .