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01-20-2015, 05:16 PM
Says Britain's top doctor as he warns service needs radical change
Sir Bruce Keogh, medical director of NHS England said the health service needs a 'complete transformation' to make it less reliant on hospitals
Said GP surgeries need more resources to cope with high demand
If changes are not made it 'may be forced to abandon free care for all'
The NHS is ‘not fit for the future’ and unless it undergoes radical change it may be forced to abandon free healthcare for all, in the future, the service's top doctor has warned.
Medical director of NHS England Professor Sir Bruce Keogh said the NHS must become far less reliant on hospitals and needed a ‘complete transformation’ of the way it operates.
Sir Bruce told the Guardian: ‘If the NHS continues to function as it does now, it’s going to really struggle to cope because the model of delivery and service that we have at the moment is not fit for the future.’
GP surgeries need to be given more resources to cope with the pressures of demand and tight budgets, he added.
‘This will open up a whole series of discussions about whether the NHS is fit for purpose, whether it’s affordable, and whether the compact with the citizen of free healthcare for all is sustainable in the longer term.’
He added: ‘Too many patients find the NHS fragmented (and) confusing. They find that they get pushed from pillar to post; they feel like a ball in a pinball machine at times.’
He denied claims that ambulance services, A&E and GP surgeries are struggling to cope and are in crisis – despite waiting times at A&E being at their worst levels in a decade.
Three of the 10 ambulance trusts in England have had to declare a critical alert over the winter.
But Sir Bruce denied it was a crisis.
He said: ‘Everybody that’s working out there in the NHS knows that they’re under a lot of pressure at the moment.
'They don’t like the term "crisis" being applied willy-nilly.
Sir Bruce Keogh, medical director of NHS England said the health service needs a 'complete transformation' to make it less reliant on hospitals
Said GP surgeries need more resources to cope with high demand
If changes are not made it 'may be forced to abandon free care for all'
The NHS is ‘not fit for the future’ and unless it undergoes radical change it may be forced to abandon free healthcare for all, in the future, the service's top doctor has warned.
Medical director of NHS England Professor Sir Bruce Keogh said the NHS must become far less reliant on hospitals and needed a ‘complete transformation’ of the way it operates.
Sir Bruce told the Guardian: ‘If the NHS continues to function as it does now, it’s going to really struggle to cope because the model of delivery and service that we have at the moment is not fit for the future.’
GP surgeries need to be given more resources to cope with the pressures of demand and tight budgets, he added.
‘This will open up a whole series of discussions about whether the NHS is fit for purpose, whether it’s affordable, and whether the compact with the citizen of free healthcare for all is sustainable in the longer term.’
He added: ‘Too many patients find the NHS fragmented (and) confusing. They find that they get pushed from pillar to post; they feel like a ball in a pinball machine at times.’
He denied claims that ambulance services, A&E and GP surgeries are struggling to cope and are in crisis – despite waiting times at A&E being at their worst levels in a decade.
Three of the 10 ambulance trusts in England have had to declare a critical alert over the winter.
But Sir Bruce denied it was a crisis.
He said: ‘Everybody that’s working out there in the NHS knows that they’re under a lot of pressure at the moment.
'They don’t like the term "crisis" being applied willy-nilly.