Darzi To Get Bill

Hospitals will face cash incentives to improve care and treatment, the Prime Minister said yesterday.

The government announced it is setting aside time for an NHS Reform Bill to put in place legislative changes needed by minister Lord Darzi.

According to the department of health, this is likely to strengthen public involvement in primary care trusts.

There would also be "greater scope" for patients to shape the care they receive.

And the idea of an NHS Constitution, setting out rights and responsibilities of staff and patients, will also be implemented.

According to the Prime Minister, hospitals will also face cash incentives to improve their services.

He told MPs yesterday: "For the first time, payments to NHS hospitals will be adjusted according to patient satisfaction and health outcomes, deepening our commitment to a patient-focused NHS."

Lord Darzi is due to publish his final report in the summer.

Health secretary Alan Johnson said: "This is a momentous year for the NHS. The 60th anniversary provides an opportunity to reflect on the huge improvements in healthcare over the past sixty years while the Next Stage Review will provide a vision for the future - a health service ready to meet the challenges of the next decade, led by clinicians and patients, not driven from Whitehall.

"This week NHS local health authorities have started publishing their visions for providing the best quality care for patients in their communities.

"Every proposal that is emerging is the result of what local clinicians, NHS staff and patients have determined is needed across every aspect of healthcare, based on the best clinical evidence."

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