Policy Forum is a collaboration between Pfizer and the New Statesman
Question time: the future direction of the NHS
Thank you. And so to the questions. Johnny Marshall is the chief executive of the National Association for Primary Care (NAPC).
Jonathan Dimbleby
Q...
I do not see a fundamental reason why we should not be able to sustain a free and comprehensive healthcare service. However, when you compare...
Andrew Lansley CBE MP
Given the likely economic future, are you saying it is possible to find more resources in real terms?
Jonathan Dimbleby
Read the discussion in full
How can the NHS promote wellness?
The Social Determinants of Health are well understood, educated and in work people place less demand on the NHS, what does the panel suggest is the...
John Coulthard
The simple truth is that the NHS does a very good job at treating people when they are sick; it is far less effective at keeping people healthy and...
Norman Lamb MP
This challenge is not one that we can expect the NHS to tackle on its own. It is a desperate fact of life for many NHS staff that, whilst they...
Andrew Lansley CBE MP
Read the discussion in full
How can spending on the NHS be sustained?
Given that both main parties seem to have more or less promised that spending on health will be maintained despite the pressures on the public...
David Worskett
I don’t think this is an accurate statement: the Government has made its spending plans very clear, and has issued allocations to the NHS up to...
Dawn Primarolo MP
The NHS has had substantial increase in resources, but we have not seen corresponding increases in productivity or outputs, even when statistics...
Andrew Lansley CBE MP
Read the discussion in full
How can GPs and PCT commissioning work together?
The RCGP is worried about the ability of PCTs to deliver the ambitious changes required to deliver high quality care. This was highlighted in the...
Steve Field
We support the return of powerful, clinician-led commissioning in primary care – like that buying to be stimulated by GP fund-holding in the 1990s....
Andrew Lansley CBE MP
One of the most dispiriting things about the way the NHS works at the moment is the constant stream of central targets which flows down from...
Norman Lamb MP
Read the discussion in full
How can we improve services for rare diseases?
While the scientific community recognises the need for enhanced interactions and cooperation between academia, industry, research organisations and...
Vincenzo Libri
When it comes to developing specialised services for people with rare diseases, we need to look at how we can deliver these services most...
Norman Lamb MP
The scientific community have made great strides forward in finding innovative ways to tackle rare diseases. There are also many patient groups...
Andrew Lansley CBE MP
Read the discussion in full
How can we ensure CVD is not a ticked box?
The NHS has published its 5 priority objectives for next year. Heart disease – the UK’s biggest killer - is not among them. Forty relevant...
Ruairi O'Connor
We know that the Government have not prioritised improving outcomes in this area. But I don’t believe that we should have to wait for a...
Andrew Lansley CBE MP
Although the Coronary Heart Disease National Service Framework (CHD NSF), launched in March 2000, was a 10-year plan of action, heart services must...
Dawn Primarolo MP
Read the discussion in full
Balancing patient focus & universal healthcare
How would you ensure the balance is maintained between providing a more patient-centred approach to healthcare provision, while also delivering...
Martin Jones
There is no inherent conflict between greater personalisation and tailoring of services to patients’ needs and preferences, and an NHS that is...
Dawn Primarolo MP
The brutal truth of the matter is that we have a long way to go before we can claim to be delivering appropriate and comprehensive healthcare...
Norman Lamb MP
Read the discussion in full
How can we improve social care pathways?
With the NHS often working at maximum capacity and future predictions of shrinking resources and greater service use, what needs to change in...
Maura Buchanan
The Government is commited to reducing the number of patients who are delayed in hospital, even though they could be better cared for...
Dawn Primarolo MP
We have seen significant changes in acute medical practice in recent years. With the introduction of new medicine, new technologies and...
Andrew Lansley CBE MP
Read the discussion in full
How can the NHS become more user friendly?
The current NHS is not user friendly. How would you incentivise its staff and structures to treat patients as valued customers rather than service...
Karol Sikora
One of the most impressive things about the NHS is the dedication and commitment of its staff. Yet they are often ignored rather than genuinely...
Norman Lamb MP
We know that people look to the NHS not only to address their medical needs, but also to treat them and their loved ones with warmth and...
Dawn Primarolo MP
Read the discussion in full
Better engagement needed on high cost medicines
Does the panel feel that the decision to allow patients to purchase additional private care will lead to greater inequity as patients have to pay...
Steve Williamson
Absolutely not. In fact, the wider measures announced by the Secretary of State on 4th November 2008 in response to Professor Richards’ review,...
Dawn Primarolo MP
This is one of those issues which has led to deep divides across the NHS and within politics. I started thinking about the issue in my role as a...
Norman Lamb MP
Read the discussion in full
Improving the heart health of the UK workforce
With an increased focus on employers’ responsibility for the health of their workforce, what does the panel think can be done to encourage...
Cathy Ratcliffe
More and more employers are beginning to understand how critical it is to invest in their employees’ health. This is vital. We are facing huge...
Andrew Lansley CBE MP
I think one of the most important things that can be done in this area is raising awareness both amongst employers and employees. Ill health costs...
Norman Lamb MP
Read the discussion in full
How can we avoid postcode lotteries?
How will the NHS reconcile public concerns over ‘postcode lotteries’ with a more local focus where PCTs are expected to commission a range of...
David Furness
There will always be variations in spending and services between local health services across the country. But we need to get to a point where...
Andrew Lansley CBE MP
The world class commissioning (WCC) assurance system compliments the current NHS Performance management system and Vital Signs. These frameworks...
Dawn Primarolo MP
Read the discussion in full
How can we adapt to the new challenges of cancer?
We now know that there are around two million people in the UK living with and beyond cancer, and that number is rising by 3% a year. As people...
Jane Maher
The challenge for the NHS, and indeed for other organisations, including social care providers, voluntary organisations and employers, now lies in...
Dawn Primarolo MP
One of the main challenges which the NHS faces in this area is the need to improve the level of personalisation available to people using NHS...
Norman Lamb MP
Read the discussion in full
Primary care: Round Table Discussion
Our round table participants consider how we can balance the need for a simple and easy-to-understand system with the need to be flexible and complex enough to deal with the needs of all patients.
I would like to start by getting everybody to make a contribution from the perspective of the patient. Once, patients would have gone to their...
Branwen Jeffreys
The options that have been offered to them hitherto have been rather restrictive and have not kept up with changes in healthcare provision, changes...
Ben Bradshaw
Professor Roland, is this what patients want?
Branwen Jeffreys
Read the discussion in full
Biotech: Round Table Discussion
This round-table discussion invited participants to examine the state of the biotechnology industry in this country. Participants talk about their experiences of working as scientists and business managers. They attempt to identify the financial conditions and the sort of management that we need to build on the status that the industry has achieved in Europe, so that it can compete worldwide.
Thank you for coming. Clive, as chairman of the BioIndustry Association, how would you describe the state of our biotechnology industry?
Sue Nelson
The healthcare sector part of the biotechnology industry has gone through a stage where it is building without making a lot of noise. Many...
Clive Dix
One of the leading venture capitalists (VCs) in this country told me this morning that more venture capital has gone into new biotechs this year...
Andy Richards
Read the discussion in full
About Policy Forum
The healthcare sector is undergoing significant change both in the UK and across the world, and the impacts resulting from these changes are far-reaching. Opening up dialogue and generating discussion amongst a wide-range of stakeholders is crucial to managing this process and building sustainable and successful reform for the future.
The New Statesman & Pfizer Policy Forum programme aims to encourage such a dialogue, bringing together leading opinion formers from across industry, government, regulators, think tanks, academics, professional, patient and consumer groups and the media to discuss the big issues facing the healthcare sector today.
Find out just how hard it is to keep the nation healthy - and under budget!
Play the New Statesman's Fantasy Health Minister game!
“This website is owned and hosted by the New Statesman, and has been supported by Pfizer. With the exception of any opinions expressed by Pfizer employees at Policy Forum meetings and reported on this website, the articles published on this website are not necessarily endorsed by Pfizer, who have no editorial control of this website”.