£9m for hospitals – if patients are happy!

By Anika Bourley Parliamentary Correspondent

Last updated 12:57, Thursday, 03 July 2008

Cumbria's hospitals could cash in on £9 million a year each – if patients are happy with the service they receive.

Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary

Under plans unveiled by health minister Lord Darzi, hospitals will be paid according to the care they provide, taking into account everything from compassion shown by staff to surgeons’ death rates.

The 10-year plan for the NHS will see patients given questionnaires to test their experience on how quick and convenient their treatment was, as well as the respect they were shown by doctors and nurses.

The results, to be called Quality Accounts, will be published on hospital information boards.

The rewards for better quality, to be introduced from April 2010, will be worth up to £9m at the average district hospital – about £1 in every £25 spent.

Lord Darzi said: “For the first time, patients’ own assessments of the success of their treatment and the quality of their experiences will have a direct impact on the way hospitals are funded.”

The 12-month review involved consultations with 60,000 patients and staff and has been hailed by the Prime Minister as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to make the NHS one of the world’s best systems.

It is believed quality will improve if teams of doctors and nurses compete with rivals at other hospitals.

Patients will be able to choose to be seen at a different hospital if they think it gives a better level of care.

Lord Darzi also published a draft constitution setting out, for the first time, the rights of patients.

One of those is the right to all drugs and treatments approved by the National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), ending the postcode lottery whereby some patients receive a treatment denied to another person elsewhere in the country.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson said the government had “resuscitated the NHS” after the cash-starved Tory years and could now move on to the next stage – to deliver “the highest quality of care for all”.

He said: “For the first time, improvements to quality will be recognised and rewarded.

“Patients’ own assessments of the success of their treatment and the quality of their experiences will have a direct impact on payments.”

But Andrew Lansley, the Conservative’s health spokesman, condemned a “complete lack of vision” in the proposals, which meant they were a missed opportunity.

He added: “Instead of scrapping the targets which distract doctors from delivering the best possible health care, Labour has opted for more of the same.”