Introduction to Healthcare
Introduction to Healthcare
This essay will identify and examine the factors that have, and continue to, influence health care policy and practices within the ever changing health service. It will particularly concentrate on the changes in the National Health Service (NHS) within the last decade and the impact that this has had on the Operating Department Practitioner profession.
The National Health Service (NHS) was launched on 5th July 1948 by Aneurin Bevan, the then Minister of Health. Its 3 core principles were to meet the needs of everyone, to be free at the point of delivery and be based upon clinical need and not the ability to pay. The services were to be predominantly funded from general taxation. (NHS, 2011). The Porritt Report (Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, 1963) resulted in Enoch Powell’s Hospital Plan (Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, 1962) which proposed the development of district general hospitals. In 1968 the Department of Health (DoH) was created by the then Labour Government. Its objective was to provide information on public health and it is still responsible for standards of healthcare and sets strategic frameworks. (Great Britain. Department of Health, no date) The Lewin Report (Great Britain. Department of Health and Social Security, 1970) was commissioned by the Central Health Services Council (CHSC) to examine the organisation of work in operating theatres and address staffing issues. The need for this arose from several developments highlighting the ever increasing burden on operating staff. Constantly increasing workloads coupled with increasingly complex procedures culminated in severe understaffing. The need for skilled workers and a clear recognition that scope of practice should be clarified were key factors in this report. There were also recommendations for dedicating operating theatres to be put aside for emergencies, consistency in shift patterns and compilation of operating lists. Information was also
This essay will identify and examine the factors that have, and continue to, influence health care policy and practices within the ever changing health service. It will particularly concentrate on the changes in the National Health Service (NHS) within the last decade and the impact that this has had on the Operating Department Practitioner profession.
The National Health Service (NHS) was launched on 5th July 1948 by Aneurin Bevan, the then Minister of Health. Its 3 core principles were to meet the needs of everyone, to be free at the point of delivery and be based upon clinical need and not the ability to pay. The services were to be predominantly funded from general taxation. (NHS, 2011). The Porritt Report (Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, 1963) resulted in Enoch Powell’s Hospital Plan (Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, 1962) which proposed the development of district general hospitals. In 1968 the Department of Health (DoH) was created by the then Labour Government. Its objective was to provide information on public health and it is still responsible for standards of healthcare and sets strategic frameworks. (Great Britain. Department of Health, no date) The Lewin Report (Great Britain. Department of Health and Social Security, 1970) was commissioned by the Central Health Services Council (CHSC) to examine the organisation of work in operating theatres and address staffing issues. The need for this arose from several developments highlighting the ever increasing burden on operating staff. Constantly increasing workloads coupled with increasingly complex procedures culminated in severe understaffing. The need for skilled workers and a clear recognition that scope of practice should be clarified were key factors in this report. There were also recommendations for dedicating operating theatres to be put aside for emergencies, consistency in shift patterns and compilation of operating lists. Information was also
References: Adams, S. (2012) ‘Arthritis postcode lottery of care’, The Telegraph, 24th April, 2012 [Online]. Available at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9221091/Arthritis-postcode-lottery-of-care.html . (Accessed 9/5/2012). Great Britain. Department of Health (1998) The Acheson report Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health [Online]. Available at http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/doh/ih/contents.htm (Accessed 10/3/2012). Great Britain. Department of Health (2010) Health Inequalities, The Marmot Review [Online]. Available at http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publichealth/Healthinequalities/index.htm (Accessed 8/3/2012). Great Britain. Department of Health (2011) Liberating the NHS: Legislative framework and next steps [Online]. Available at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/LiberatingtheNHS/DH_122624. (Accessed 12/5/2012). Great Britain. Department of Health and Social Security (1970) The Lewin Report on Organisation Great Britain Great Britain. Department of Health. (1991) Patients Charter, A guide to the National health Service [Online]. Available at http://www.publications.doh.gov.uk/pub/docs/doh/nhstxt.pdf. (Accessed on 14/3/2012). Great Britain. Department of Health. (1995) The Patients Charter and you –a Charter for England. [Online]. Available at http://tgmeds.org.uk/patientscharter.html. (Accessed 10/3/2012). Great Britain. Department of Health. (1998). A first class service: Quality in the new NHS [Online]. Available at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4006902. (Accessed 1/4/2012). Great Britain. Health Professions Council. [Online]. Available online at http://www.hpc-uk.org/. (Accessed 10/5/2012). Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons (1962) The Hospital Plan. London: The Stationary Office (HC vol 237, cc 471-581) [Online]. Available at: http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1962/feb/14/the-hospital-plan (Accessed 6/3/2012). Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons (1992) The Health of the Nation. London: The Stationary Office (HC vol 538 cc1183-98). [Online]. Available at http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1992/jul/08/the-health-of-the-nation. (Accessed 12/3/2012). Great Britain. Royal Collage of Nursing. (1998). Clinical Governance. [Online]. Available online at http://www.rcn.org.uk/development/practice/clinical_governance. (Accessed 1/5/2012). Great Britain. The Health Act 1999: Elizabeth II. Chapter 8 (1999) London: The Stationary Office. [Online]. Available at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1999/8/contents (Accessed 12/4/2012). Great Britain. The NHS and Community Care Act 1990: Elizabeth II. Chapter 19 (1990) London: The Stationary Office. http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/about-us/ (no date) [Online]. (Accessed 6/3/2012). http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/nhshistory/Pages/NHShistory1948.aspx(2011) [Online]. (Accessed 3/3/2012]. Ramesh, R. (2012) ‘Is reform of the NHS doomed to fail?, The Guardian, 7th February [Online]. Available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/07/nhs-reform-bill-failure (Accessed 5/5/2012). Travis, A. (2012) ‘UK population to reach 70m by 2027’, The Guardian, 26th October, 2011 [Online]. Available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/26/uk-population-70-million-2027. (Accessed 10/5/2012). Whitehead, M. The health divide. Pelican Books: London. 1988.