Patients would be given “real choice” and power within the NHS which would see power decentralised if the Conservative Party are elected to government, the party’s general election manifesto claims.
Top-down government targets, such as waiting times for treatment, will be scrapped under plans already announced by the party and underlined in the manifesto.
An independent NHS board for the day-to-day running of the NHS will have decision-making power over how money is spent.
There will be closer links between patients and the NHS staff who are treating them, the Conservatives say.
“We will decentralise power so that patients have a real choice,” the manifesto said.
“We will make doctors and nurses accountable to patients, not to endless layers of bureaucracy and management.
“We can’t go on with an NHS that puts targets before patients.”
By making staff more directly accountable for their performance, the Conservatives say NHS administration costs can be cut by a third.
As well as increasing health spending in real terms every year, the Tories will give patients the power to choose any provider who can provide NHS-standard care at NHS prices.
This includes private firms as well as voluntary or community organisations who want to be involved in providing NHS services.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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