Lord Darzi review of the NHS in England
It’s pretty well accepted now that even the most successful private medical practitioners need to sell and position themselves within the market place, identifying their point of difference to deliver added value to their practice. In other words they need to do the “m” word – marketing.
That’s fine and good in the cut and thrust of the private competitive market but surely unnecessary if you’re predominantly an NHS practitioner working in a busy NHS environment? It doesn’t seem to be that simple. If only a few recommendations from Lord Darzi’s report, “High Quality Care for All” (in the NHS), are actually implemented then there will be radical commercial implications for NHS GPs and Consultants.
Quality of care delivery, measurement and choice are at the report’s heart focussing on patient control, influence and choice - commonplace terms in an open competitive market but relatively new to the UK healthcare sector. Just look at the internet and media influence on informing the marketplace. Patients who evaluate (rightly or wrongly) that they need an MRI, scoping procedure, this or that drug and several physiotherapy sessions will have expectations of the system that one simply can’t ignore. Therefore are “one stop” facilities such as a polyclinics, one of Lord Darzi’s many recommendations, really that revolutionary or controversial?
If patients are going to have a choice as to who can treat them (and where) and GPs and consultants are to be measured and then rewarded in terms of their quality of safety, clinical and “patient experience” outputs then, NHS or not, they will need to communicate their successes to the public. On the other hand, if NHS practitioners are missing out on the recognition and benefits available to them then they will need to research the market, adapt and enhance their quality of patient service and experience.
In any field this is how the marketplace works and you win or lose by it.
Should the NHS be any different?
Posted on Thursday, 17 July 2008