Progress on NHS reform 'slow'

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

While the commitment to changing the NHS is right, progress on the ground has been slow, it said.

The study, published by the right-wing think-tank Reform, used international research to compare the NHS with other countries. It found a "cradle to the grave gap" in areas like quality of care, access to care and cleanliness of hospitals.

The Department of Health's claims of reform are a national mantra rather than local reality, it went on.

Significant changes in the interests of patients have not been adequately driven by reforms while managers have been forced by the Department of Health's agenda to focus on the short term rather than the medium term, it added.

The study said trends suggested a decline in the service, especially with the slowing down of growth in the NHS budget, but this was not inevitable.

Creating an economic constitution for the service that defines a duty to create value "at all levels" could stimulate progress, it said.

Nick Bosanquet, professor of health policy at Imperial College London and a consultant director of Reform, said: "The Department of Health's strategic challenge is to transform the quality of NHS care within a foreseeable future of tightly-limited resources.

"The NHS does not need a charter which amounts to a statement of good intentions. It needs an economic constitution which gives every level of the service the duty to achieve value for money."

Andrew Haldenby, director of Reform and a co-author, said: "In his major speech on the NHS in January, the Prime Minister said that reform was all but in place and the service could move on to tackling issues such as obesity. In fact, reform has barely left the starting gate."