26 Apr 2005
Improvements to the care provided for people living with chronic conditions could be subject to local variation - that's the verdict of an NHS Confederation briefing paper published this week on the National Service Framework (NSF) for long-term conditions.
The NSF, which was launched in March, includes 11 quality requirements that must be fulfilled by 2015 and the briefing paper describes this target as 'ambitious'.
But Jo Webber, Policy Manager at the Confederation which represents more than 90% of NHS organisations across the UK, says: "Even though the timescale for implementation (of the quality requirements) is ten years, the NSF gives an ambitious agenda and it is worth noting that implementation will be by local agreement.
"This flexibility is welcome, as it acknowledges differences in existing service distributions across geographical areas, but the NSF is clear that funding for implementation must come from existing allocations.
"It is therefore probable that delivery of some quality requirements will take place at different rates in different geographical areas."
The NSF focuses in particular on people living with neurological conditions conditions which account for 20% of acute hospital admissions and are the third most common reason for seeing a GP.
Jo Webber says: "The NHS Confederation welcomes this NSF and its aspiration to be a model for all long-term conditions, not just those with a neurological basis. It presents, for the first time, a joined-up approach to delivering care for people with long-term conditions."
The NHS Confederation's election manifesto, launched in mid-March before the General Election campaign got underway, called for a better deal for the 17.5 million people living with long-term conditions in the UK.
And the organisation is part of the '17 million reasons' campaign, a unique partnership of patient groups, healthcare professionals and health service managers which was launched in September 2004 to raise the profile of this issue.
Politicians representing the three main parties took part in a General Election hustings event hosted by the '17 million reasons' campaign on the day that the election was called - April 5.
1. The NHS Confederation represents more than 90% of the organisations that make up the NHS throughout the UK. Its members include the majority of NHS trusts, foundation trusts, primary care trusts and health authorities in England; trusts and local health boards in Wales; NHS boards and special boards in Scotland; and health and social service trusts and boards in Northern Ireland.
2. Contact Media Relations Manager Matt Akid on 020 7074 3306.
3. The NHS Confederation's briefing paper on the long-term conditions NSF is available online.
Full details of the '17 million reasons' campaign are available at www.17millionreasons.org and the NHS Confederation's election manifesto is available at www.nhsconfed.org/imagine
Last reviewed 6 Nov 2006