Press release: NHS Confederation accepts challenge from the Secretary of State in her first major speech
17 Jun 2005
The NHS Confederation has accepted the challenge laid down by the Secretary of State to show the taxpayer that the NHS is delivering value for money.
Responding to the Secretary of State's first major speech, given at the NHS Confederation Annual Conference in Birmingham, Dame Gill Morgan, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation said:
'The Secretary of State has clearly got to grips with the key the challenges facing the NHS - no mean feat after 6 weeks in the job.
'Her call for the service to show the taxpayer that we are providing value for money is spot on and I accept that challenge. The 1.3 million people who work for the NHS are totally committed to delivering a world class service to the British public.
'As the Secretary of State said in her speech, we have made heroic improvements to the service over the last 5 years. We deal with over 1,000,000 patients every 36 hours, use new technology and new treatments to deliver a faster, and better service.
'We welcome the Secretary of State's commitment to making sense of the reforms and to create a coherent way of explaining to front line staff how the reform agenda will make a real difference to patients.'
'To keep getting better, we must continue to change the way we work, become leaner and more efficient in everything we do. But we also we need the investment to continue. We'll need to make a strong case and give the public the service they rightly demand.
Ends
Notes for editors
1. The NHS Confederation represents more than 92% of the organisations that make up the NHS throughout the UK. Its members include the majority of NHS trusts, foundation trusts, ambulance trusts, mental health 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.
Contact details
For more information contact Head of Public Affairs Sarah Jones on 020 7074 3300 or 07768 546753
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