LONDON (Reuters), May 9 - An overstretched U.K. National Health System (NHS) should only provide core services, doctors believe. The British Medical Association (BMA) said if healthcare is to remain free accessible to all, despite its limited resources, prioritization has to take place.
The BMA has called for the creation of an ongoing list of core NHS services, to be compiled in consultation with patients, the public, and professionals.
"We need a public debate to decide a process to define a list of core NHS services -- it will be a very substantial core -- that will be nationally available," said BMA Chairman James Johnson.
"If we are going to retain an equitable, universal approach within limited resources then priority setting is inevitable.
"Politicians need to acknowledge this, and that it happens already but in a nontransparent and piecemeal fashion."
The idea forms a central plank in the BMA's discussion paper "A Rational Way Forward for the NHS in England," which seeks to provide an "alternative, rational approach" to health reform.
The core services would form part of a new written constitution for the NHS, to be overseen by an independent board of governors, effectively separating national politics from the day-to-day running of the health service.
Johnson added: "The time has come to look at a much more independent framework for the NHS to allow greater flexibility for health economies to develop care systems and to find ways of increasing local accountability."
Last Updated: 2007-05-08 13:07:19 -0400 (Reuters Health)
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