�The NHS
across the UK faces a 'battle of ideas' between a future based on
one of mutuality rooted in the public service ethos versus one
driven by market forces, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said
today.
NHSScotland will continue to stay true to its founding principles
the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing told the British
Medical Association's annual conference in Edinburgh, in this its
60th year.
As part of this, Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish Government will
legislate to close a 'legal loophole' which some GPs fear could lead
to commercialisation of doctors' services 'by the back door'.
She also said that next month the Scottish Government will launch
its consultation on the possible contents of a new Patients' Rights
Bill, seeking views on issues ranging from equity of access and
dignity in healthcare, to the right to a legally binding individual
waiting time guarantee appropriate to clinical need.
Ms Sturgeon said the past week, which saw the publication of Lord
Darzi's report on the future of healthcare in England, had
highlighted the different approaches being pursued by the two
countries.
She said:
"I think there is a battle of ideas going on about the future
direction of healthcare. A battle between the values of the market,
of internal competition and contestability and the values of public
service, of cooperation and collaboration.
"We have set out our stall with absolute clarity. NHSScotland is,
and always will be, a service that is owned by the people of this
country.
"We will continue to ensure that our policies reflect the ethos and
the principles upon which the NHS was founded back in 1948.
"I am firmly opposed to the commercialisation of healthcare and to
this end, the Scottish Government will legislate to make sure there
is no privatisation of GP services by the back door."
Last month, The Scottish Government's Health Inequalities Task Force
published Equally Well, its blueprint for achieving generational
change in Scottish society by tackling the health inequalities that
mean people in Scotland's most deprived communities face greater
health challenges.
The report is backed by �15 million of additional funding, on top of
the �1.66 billion already spent on tackling inequalities.
Better Health Better Care, the Scottish Government's new national
strategy for health and wellbeing in Scotland, sets out the ways in
which health and healthcare can contribute to a more successful
country with opportunities for all to flourish through sustainable
economic growth.
The Scottish Government is committed to achieving its 18 week
waiting time target from referral to treatment by 2011.
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