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Is the general election relevant to health professionals working in the NHS?

Nicola Russell, Director of Services
MS Trust

Way Ahead 2010;14(1):5

Houses of Parliament seen from the air

The NHS has always been vulnerable to political expediency and the coming election will be no different.

It is a fact of life that health is the most important asset that anyone can have, although some people don't realise this fact until too late. However, it is probably this realisation that makes the NHS such an important ideal in the minds of the public. Since Labour came to power they have trebled the budget being spent on the NHS from £37bn to in excess of £100bn per annum. Not such a large sum when we consider the amount of money that has recently been injected into the banks to keep them afloat! The difficult political question is - have we seen real improvements in healthcare over the last decade on the back of this significant rise in spending?

We have seen new hospitals and GP practice buildings. We have more people working in the NHS, and in England we have seen endless changes to the structure of the NHS. Did any of these investments improve the quality of care?

We have seen progress with waiting times, we have seen more scanners and we have seen more specialist practitioners in some areas. How have these changes improved the quality of care?

Lord Darzi came and went as a Health Minister, but he left a very important clue as to what is probably still missing in the NHS - good consistent clinical quality. Healthcare is not about counting numbers, it is about providing a service that improves people's quality of life, and never was this more true than in multiple sclerosis and other long-term conditions.

We have to hope that whatever government is returned in 2010 they recognise clinical quality as the critical element that the public want and need.

What does this mean for health professionals working in the NHS? Being bold I would venture to suggest that the time has never been better to stand up and demonstrate the clinical value that you bring to people with MS. Whichever government wins the next election they are going to have a huge financial headache and they are going to be looking to maximise their investment in the NHS in line with the aspiration set by Lord Darzi. The public is in a restless state with many people experiencing real hardship in the recession - they will not accept poor health provision.

Reliable sources tell me that the latest key words in the Department of Health are:

  • Quality
  • Innovation
  • Productivity
  • Prevention

Clinical quality is enshrined in the NHS Constitution launched to mark the 60th anniversary of the NHS. Also in this constitution is a commitment to you as staff:

  • To provide all staff with personal development and training
  • To engage staff in decisions that affect them and the services they provide.

The MS Trust has worked closely with health professionals since its inception in 1993. We have seen the huge difference you have made for people with MS over that time regardless of what government was sitting in Whitehall. We remain confident that the talent is there to develop services further, and that together we can achieve what we all want; namely to enable people with MS to live their lives to the full. Some thoughts to get us all through the election campaign:

  1. Audit your clinical practice and be able to demonstrate its quality, and your productivity.
  2. Share good ideas and good practice with your colleagues. For example via Way Ahead, Therapists in MS, the UKMSSNA etc.
  3. Be innovative and challenge your colleagues to look at ways of working more effectively.
  4. Get people with MS involved in your service - they could be your most effective champions.

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