New ways of working to deliver better health outcomes, provide patients with
more choice and secure best value for money Extra money to tackle health
inequalities

Shifting the focus of healthcare from treating sick people towards 
prevention and supporting wellbeing is crucial if we are to improve the 
health of the nation and ensure we deliver NHS services effectively in 
future, Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said today.

Speaking at a conference, the Health Secretary announced an extra £8.9 
million for local authorities in 81 areas across the country to invest in 
schemes to tackle health inequalities. Ms Hewitt also invited views on 
working arrangements in the Commissioning Framework of Health and Wellbeing 
that will bring local councils and the NHS closer together to deliver 
better care for their local communities.

The proposals could see services delivered in radical new ways such as the 
NHS paying for air conditioning facilities in the homes of people with 
chronic lung disease that may be worsened by hot weather, and GPs 
prescribing anger management classes for children with behavioural 
problems.

The change marks a significant shift in the way services have traditionally 
been delivered and are part of the government's policy to deliver care 
closer to people's homes and out of hospitals. The new plans also aim to 
give people more choice and control over their own health.

The additional money - targeted at the country's most deprived areas - will 
help the local NHS and local councils come together to start schemes that 
will help deal with health challenges in their area - such as teenage 
pregnancy, obesity, and mental health.

Patricia Hewitt, Health Secretary said:

"For too long health has been seen simply in terms of hospitals and bed 
numbers. NHS stands for the National Health Service not the National 
Sickness Service and we want it to live up to its name.

"We need to radically change the culture of how we shape and deliver care - 
shifting focus from curing the sick to the proactive prevention of ill 
health, as well as tackling health inequalities.

"By encouraging local government and the NHS to work more closely with 
their communities, we can transform the way we deliver healthcare - 
tackling health inequalities, preventing serious illness, giving people 
greater choices as well as treating the sick.

"I want to see greater flexibility in the use of resources to target 
investment where it will have biggest impact to improve health and prevent 
premature death.

"By giving GPs more flexibility in how they use NHS money and investing 
more in community based programmes, local services will be able to offer 
people a seamless service of care - whether in a hospital, in their home or 
in the community."

Secretary of State for Communities, Ruth Kelly said:

"This framework together with the proposed new duty for local authorities 
and PCT's to prepare joint strategic needs assessments for their local 
areas is an important step to provide a stronger partnership between local 
government and the NHS.

"By using this framework and working through Local Area Agreements they can
begin to draw together the contributions of different services, leisure,
transport, libraries and housing as well as across social, primary and
community care to create the outcomes which lead to prosperous and healthier
communities."

The consultation document invites views on how local health and social care
services are designed to promote health and well-being and ensure that those
services to support the prevention of avoidable illness are prioritised
alongside services to treat illness.

Key issues in the consultation include:

- Giving individuals more choice and control over their own care. For 
example by increasing choice for patients to all services not just elective 
care and giving patients a louder voice in determining the type of care 
available.

- The new duty for NHS and local government to provide a strategic needs 
assessment - requiring those who plan services to deliver care that reflect 
the needs of their local communities.

- Wider use of flexibilities of Practice Based Commissioning - so that GPs 
for example can spend NHS money on non-NHS services that have a 
preventative benefit for the NHS.

- Redesigning local health services based on people's needs, and 
convenience. For example - co-locating relevant health services for 
children and young people on sites that are used already, such as 
children's centres and schools.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. The Commissioning Framework for Health and Wellbeing can be found at
http://www.commissioning.csip.org.uk.

2. The £8.9M is provided for the second phase of the Communities for Health
pilots which bring together local authorities, the NHS and community
organisations to improve health in the most disadvantaged areas. Benefiting
local authorities include:

Barking and Dagenham, London Borough of
Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council
Birmingham City Council
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
Blackpool Council
Blyth Valley Borough Council
Bolsover District Council
Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council
Burnley Borough Council
Bury Metropolitan Borough Council
Carlisle City Council
Chester-le-Street District Council
Corby Borough Council
Derwentside District Council
Easington, District of
Hackney, London Borough of
Halton Borough Council
Haringey, London Borough of
Hartlepool Borough Council
Hyndburn Borough Council
Kingston upon Hull City Council
Lambeth, London Borough of
Leicester City Council
Lewisham, London Borough of
Lincoln Council, City of
Liverpool City Council
Middlesbrough Council
Newcastle City Council
Newham, London Borough of
North East Lincolnshire Council
North Tyneside Council
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council
Oldham Council
Pendle Borough Council
Preston City Council
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
Rossendale Borough Council
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Salford City Council
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Sedgefield Borough Council
South Tyneside Council
Southwark, London Borough of
St. Helens Council
Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Sunderland City Council
Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council
Tamworth Borough Council
Tower Hamlets, London Borough of
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
Walsall Council
Wansbeck District Council
Warrington Borough Council
Wear Valley District Council
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

3. 'Commissioning' is the means by which the NHS secures the best value for
patients and taxpayers when it plans and delivers services.

4. Commissioning itself is not new, but stronger Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) 
and the acceleration of Practice Based Commissioning (PBC), together with 
the incentives introduced by the health reform, and a stronger and more 
systematic approach to patient and public involvement, provides the 
opportunity for more effective commissioning that will benefit patients, 
communities and taxpayers alike.

5. The Commissioning Framework for Health and Well-being follows 
publication on the Commissioning Framework for the Acute Sector (published 
Summer 06). Effective commissioning makes the best use of allocated 
resources to achieve the following goals:

- improvements in health and well-being
- reductions in health inequalities and social exclusion
- better access to a comprehensive range of services
- Improved quality, effectiveness and efficiency of services
- increased choice for patients and a better experience of care
- improved integration of health and social care

6. At the heart of commissioning are the millions of individual decisions 
of patients and clinicians that lead to the provision of care and the 
commitment of resources.

7. One of the key outcomes of last year's Your Health, Your Care, Your Say 
consultation was that people wanted more say over how the NHS is run and 
what services and care they receive.

[ENDS]

Client ref 2007/0052

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