How the new NHS Mandate will impact upon the care sector

A new NHS Mandate, unveiled this week by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, sets out the Government’s ambitions for health services over the remainder of the Coalition’s administration.

Key objectives include the prevention of premature deaths, enhancing the quality of life for individuals with long-term conditions, more effective post-hospital care, and protecting people from harm judged to be avoidable.

The Conservative minister agrees with demographic experts that an ageing population is the chief reason for pressures on healthcare to be addressed effectively, commenting: “Never in its long history has the NHS faced such rapid change in our healthcare needs, from caring for an older population, to managing the cost of better treatments, to seizing the opportunities of new technology.

“This Mandate is about giving the NHS the right priorities to deal with those challenges. By focusing on what matters to patients, and giving doctors and other professionals the freedom to deliver, we will make sure the NHS stays relevant to our needs and continues providing the best possible care for us all.”

The Mandate also includes better treatment, diagnosis and care for people with dementia, echoing the sentiments of the Prime Minister’s new ‘Dementia Friends’ initiative launched last week, which has been tasked with recruiting one million volunteers to achieve dementia-friendly communities.

President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), Sarah Pickup, has welcomed the commitment to better dementia care in particular, praising the Mandate for setting out “common objectives and the ways in which we need to work together in order to achieve them”.

Ms Pickup is also pleased that prevention and recovery feature highly in the Health Secretary’s priorities and that the Mandate looks to support local initiatives: “There is a welcome focus on promoting and supporting effective local commissioning and engagement with councils and others. And on achieving for individuals, rather than organisations, with the emphasis falling on maintaining health and well-being.”

Image: courtesy of Conservative Party photostream