Top doctors to be sent to cottage hospitals
SPECIALIST doctors will be dispatched to work in rural hospitals in an effort to drive up standards of NHS care and stop the elderly being forced to travel long distances for treatment.
Simon Stevens, the head of the health service, will today pledge to bring “world class care to the patient’s doorstep”, reversing policies which for decades have seen local services stripped back.
Mr Stevens wants leading doctors to be sent from major units to work in community hospitals, while specialist centres such as the Royal Marsden for cancer care and Moorfields Eye hospital, both in London, will take over the running of local units. Pilot schemes will be set up to try to tackle variations in standards across the country, ending the postcode lottery of care, especially in rural areas where patients either miss out on specialist care or are forced to travel long distances. In a speech to the Confederation of British Industry in London today, Mr Stevens will herald a “new era” in NHS care, which he says will bring an end to the days when hospitals could “go it alone”. He is expected to tell business leaders: “We’ve got some of the world’s best hospitals and specialists in this country, and it’s right they should be able to extend their reach more widely.
“The new plan will test new models of hospital care in 13 parts of the country.”
Specialists will be sent to run regular clinics in district general hospitals, offering services such as eyecare, orthopaedics and neuroscience.
Crucially, NHS trusts will be expected to share staff and resources, in order to ensure that smaller sites are viable and productive and to prevent the closure of smaller cottage-style hospitals. Mr Stevens has warned previously that
hospitals have stripped out services, last year telling The Daily Telegraph: “Most of western Europe has hospitals which are able to serve their local communities, without everything having to be centralised.”
The pilot schemes are part of efforts to cope with an ageing population and a growing crisis in care of the elderly. Health officials believe that offering help closer to home will help relieve pressure on emergency services.
Mr Stevens will say today: “Rather than patients routinely having to travel to specialist centres, we want to test the idea of bringing that expertise to their local hospital.
“So key departments in smaller local hospitals are in some cases now going to be run by some of the best hospitals in Britain, such as Moorfields, the Royal Marsden or the Christie [cancer treatment centre in Manchester].”
He will add: “This could help support a viable future for many smaller hospitals that are often so important to local communities, and improve the quality and range of services available, reducing the need to travel long distances. Specialist centres will continue to play a critical role, but we can also bring more world-class care to the patient’s doorstep.”
Mr Stevens has warned previously that for more than a decade the NHS has fallen victim to a “steady push towards centralisation”.
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