Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has set out what the Health and Social Care Act will mean for four key health and care organisations and their staff - clinical commissioning groups, NHS foundation trusts, NHS trusts and local authorities.
He explains there are two simple principles at the heart of the Act - that patients should share in every decision about their care and those responsible for patient care should have the ‘freedom and power to lead an NHS that delivers continually improving care’.
In a letter to clinical commissioning group leaders, he reassured them:
’ … the breadth and scope of competition in the NHS is something you will determine, in the interests of your patients. It will not be imposed upon you from Whitehall.’
He emphasised to chief executives of NHS foundation trusts and NHS trusts that:
‘The Government’s ambition is to ensure all providers of NHS-funded care … are genuinely free from political interference to focus on how best to treat their patients … to design their services … and to continuously improve the quality of their services.’
And when writing to the chief executives of local authorities, Mr Lansley highlighted that:
‘The Health and Social Care Act will help ensure you are no longer bystanders in the decisions that affect your local communities.’