Press release: NHS Confederation comments on the Joint Committee on Human Rights report on older people in healthcare
15 Aug 2007
Welcoming the report by the joint committee, Dr Gill Morgan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation which represents over 95 per cent of NHS organisations, said:
"We welcome the publication of this report as an important step towards improving the service the NHS delivers for its patients.
"As leaders in healthcare, we recognise that the human rights act can provide a framework for delivering improved services. This must be translated into action at all levels to avoid turning judgements about care into a box ticking exercise.
"The principles of care and dignity are central to the design of any system to treat patients. There can be no excuse for anyone involved in the NHS - clinician or non-clinician - to treat care as secondary to cure, because the best outcomes for patients require both. This is especially the case among the elderly who will often have long-term, multi-system, conditions.
"Tackling this requires a joint approach between individual clinicians and managers. All staff must have zero tolerance to poor care and we must ensure that systems are in place to treat all patients with respect and dignity.
"At the NHS Confederation, we are well aware that although a great deal of care is excellent, there is variability within the system. Our members are determined to address these issues through the spread of best practice. The seriousness with which managers take this issue is reflected in the extensive quotes the report makes of our members' work."
Notes for editors
The NHS Confederation represents more than 95% of the organisations that make up the NHS. Its members include the majority of NHS acute trusts, ambulance trusts, foundation trusts, mental health trusts, primary care trusts, special health authorities and strategic health authorities in England; trusts and local health boards in Wales; and health and social service trusts and boards in Northern Ireland.
Contact details
Contact Joanna Clason (media relations manager) 020 7074 3306 or 077 9857 1078, Niall Smith 020 7074 3304 or 077 6777 0309 or Ruth Kennedy 020 7074 3312 or 078 8447 3086. For out of hours media enquiries, please call the Duty Press Officer on 07880 500726.
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