Press release: NHS Confederation comments on the operating framework
13 Dec 2007
Commenting on the 2008-2009 operating framework for the NHS, Gill Morgan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation which represents over 95 per cent of NHS organisations said:
"The national priorities in the operating framework reflect what matters to patients and the public and NHS management is clear it must deliver on this agenda. We agree that some things should be centrally prescribed and there is a need for national targets which are carefully constructed and flexible enough to drive improvement at a local level.
"The intention to move towards greater autonomy at a local level in the health service is welcome. However, rhetoric does not match reality. The framework is much more prescriptive than the five national priorities might initially suggest. NHS leaders believe there is already too much on both what the NHS should be doing and how. In this context it is important that the proposed "raft of indicators" or "vital signs", though welcome in principle, do not turn into national targets for performance management. "
Steve Barnett, director of NHS Employers, which represents trust on workforce issues, said:
"Giving staff at local level a voice and providing them with a rewarding work environment is crucial if employers are to deliver the best possible services to patients. We welcome the acknowledgement that the workforce is at the heart of improved patient services and that staff satisfaction is fundamental to this. There are well-established links between trusts that have high staff satisfaction levels and those that deliver the highest quality services for their patients."
David Stout, director of the Primary Care Trust Network, said:
"Primary Care Trusts might control more of the NHS budget but the level of prescription means the space for discretion is limited. The framework confirms that Strategic Health Authorities can set contingency reserves at any level they like when we believe this should be the responsibility of PCTs."
Sue Slipman, director of the Foundation Trust Network, said:
"Foundation trusts welcome the new system rules to underpin co-operation and competition in the NHS, but regret that these also seem to be being used inappropriately. As they are also being applied to the standard contract this now risks becoming a vehicle to drive performance from the top down rather than concentrating on building positive relationships between increasingly independent providers and their commissioners.
"As top performing organisations foundation trusts will do their utmost to deliver the government's policies, but each foundation trust board will want to consider whether or not the Standard Contract terms will load too much risk upon it, given a tariff settlement they may not view as adequate to meet their funding needs".
David Worskett, director of the NHS Partners Network, said:
"We welcome the inclusion of the System Management Rules for Collaboration and Competition. Establishing a level playing field for all providers is the key to enabling the independent sector to show what it can do to bring continuously improving standards of care to NHS patients. It is vital that PCTs now give a level playing field a fair chance to work."
ENDS
Notes for editors
Notes for Editors
1. 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 Niall Smith 020 7074 3304 or 07767 770309, Ruth Kennedy 020 7074 3312 or 07884 47 3086, or Ruby Casey-Knight 020 7074 3306 or 07881 957305. For out of hours media enquiries, please call the Duty Press Officer on 07880 500726.
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