Better health, better care: an action plan
Scottish Government
December 2007
This is the new Scottish Government's ambitious blueprint for the NHS for the next few years. While its main thrust is about reducing health inequalities and promoting better health, with prevention of treatable conditions, it does also consider long-term conditions.
Primary points for MS are:
- Move to 'shared ownership' of the NHS: consumers have rights and responsibilities
- More support for managed clinical networks, particularly in neurology
- Better provision of information to people with long-term conditions: by April 2009, there will be a National Health Information and Support Service co-ordinating online information and a national helpline, with a network of branded health information support centres
- Supported self-management, including a self-management framework for each geographical area
- Better palliative care, with a new Palliative Care Strategy due in March 2008
- Delivery plan for a Long-term Conditions Strategy due in 2008, ensuring:
- treating people as people, not a collection of symptoms
- ensuring they are aware of the full range of information and support available, especially at diagnosis
- better psychological support via counselling and improving self-esteem
- need new patterns of consultation in primary care, eg multi-disciplinary clinics
- rehabilitation: ensure delivery framework for Adult Rehabilitation (2007) is delivered
- more emphasis on eHealth, particularly in home management of long term conditions
- Single Shared Assessment - new standards for time to make an assessment, and time to deliver the package; followed in 2009 by shared electronic information on the Single Shared Assessment.
The other important element is timeliness, and a new set of waiting time targets:
- From December 2011, 18 weeks is maximum wait for treatment following GP referral for non-urgent patients. Known as 18 week RTT standard.
- By end March 2009:
- longest wait for first outpatient consultation - 15 week
- longest wait to diagnostic tests - 6 weeks
- longest wait for inpatient or day case treatment - 15 weeks
A copy of the full document is available from the Scottish Government website.
