17 October 2006
Tony Blair has met with the Chief Executives of the Strategic Health Authorities (SHA) to discuss the current situation in the NHS.
He heard how they are making sure that those buying health care for local people are improving their skills.
They also discussed the development of innovative forms of provision for NHS patients, where new types of care are cutting waiting lists and saving lives.
SHAs were created in 2002 to manage the National Health Service on behalf of the Secretary of State.
In July this year the number of SHAs covering England was reduced to from 28 to 10.
The idea was that fewer, more strategic organisations can deliver stronger commissioning functions, leading to improved services for patients and better value for money for the taxpayer.
Earlier in the day, during his monthly press conference, the PM watched two presentations about change in the health service.
Chief Executive of the NHS David Nicholson and Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson spoke about the progress and direction of the NHS.
- Download Mr Nicholson’s presentation as PDF
- Download Sir Liam’s presentation as PDF
- Read the transcript of the presentation
Ever since its creation, the National Health Service has had to change continually to improve the care it can give to its patients. In a special feature - Change in the NHS will mean better care - we look at the recent development of the NHS and the future of 21st century healthcare.
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