Health – too important not to care
By Patrick Nolan, Chief Economist, Reform
In recent days the adage that “a week is a long time in politics” has seemed very true – with the political ground moving beneath our feet. Debate is now centred on the need for a massive decentralisation of power, greater political and institutional accountability to citizens and consumers, and greater value for money.
While there has been some recognition of the need for greater transparency among public bodies like the NHS, health issues have generally played little role in this new and welcome debate. This can't continue. Just looking at the numbers, the NHS employs 1.3 million people and accounts for over 8 per cent of GDP, and one pound in six of all government spending is on health. But even these figures cannot fully capture the costs to us all when opportunities for improving the health of the UK population are missed.
The medium-term funding outlook for the NHS, with baselines likely to be frozen in real terms for several years from 2011, means the UK health system has to be rethought now. To do this it is necessary to accept the need for greater rationing of resources and to be open to radical ideas and insights. Only through doing this will it be possible to ensure that necessary reforms are made prior to 2011 and the potential of the NHS is unlocked.
Areas where debate is needed include the current state of play of NHS reform, how healthcare should be funded, options for getting more for less out of the health system, and how changes in information technology could change the NHS landscape. To help cement these issues onto the reform agenda, Reform is hosting a major conference on the future of health on 9 June. The goal is to point the way forward to a NHS that could do more with its 8 per cent of GDP – as process of making crucial decisions and improving incentives for reform must begin now.