Will the NHS strategic plan benefit patients?

doi:10.1136/bmj.a824

Published 17 July 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a824
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a824

Analysis

Will the NHS strategic plan benefit patients?

Donald W Light, Leverhulme visiting professor ¹^,2

¹ University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX , ² University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey, USA

dlight@princeton.edu

Analysis, doi: 10.1136/bmj.a838

Health policy expert Donald Light gives his verdict on the latestplans for the National Health Service

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The first principle of the Toyota way, one of the world’smost successful management systems, is to base decisions ona long term philosophy that generates value for the individual,society, and the economy.¹ The new strategic plan for the NHS(which, although often called the Darzi report, results froma year long strategic planning exercise involving thousandsof NHS staff) is of international importance because it reaffirmsthe long term philosophy underpinning the original service,to offer comprehensive care free at the point of delivery.²³ That philosophy provides the most powerful basis for meetingthe health needs of a society in a fair and fiscally disciplinedway, especially in the face of increased inequality, risingexpectations, advances in technology, and an ageing population.⁴

The NHS puts to shame American access based on insurers’ability to select out risk. The American non-system of competitivecommissioning and corporate provision has maximised . . . [Full text of this article]

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