Reid thanks NHS staff
In a Christmas message to NHS staff, the Health Secretary has said that the NHS is improving.
In an open message to all staff, Dr John Reid said he wished to offer his “very sincere thanks” to all for their work in 2004.
There are about 2.85 million staff working in the NHS.
Dr Reid said: “I know staff are being challenged to work differently and are responding positively to that challenge. By working together throughout the year in new and more effective ways they have not only raised the standard of healthcare and extended people’s choice of NHS services, but have also continued to speed up access to treatment.”
Stressing the fact that he believes services are improving – despite the Opposition’s claims to the contrary – Dr Reid said: “I hope all staff can see the difference it is making to the most important people – their patients. Real improvements are coming through and patients tell me they appreciate them.
“In emergency care, at the beginning of last year around a quarter of patients spent more than four hours in A&E. Now 19 out of 20 patients are seen, diagnosed and treated within four hours and the NHS is on track to make that 49 out of 50 within a few months.
“NHS staff know better than anyone that this is the result of hard work in hospitals and in the community. Extra pressure in A&E is transmitted throughout the health and social care system; so reductions in emergency waiting times can only be achieved when everyone works together.”
Accepting that all is not rosy, Dr Reid said “many challenges remain for the future”.
Indicating that there would be no retreat on the choice agenda – which is controversial for some on Labour’s back benches, he said: “During 2004 the Government launched the NHS Improvement Plan, outlining plans to offer greater choice and personalisation of services. This improvement is what people want and it is important that we all work to provide it so that the NHS remains everybody’s first choice for healthcare.
“The public health white paper, Choosing Health, was launched in October. It outlines the Government’s proposals for tackling the health inequalities that blight our society and signals a shift of emphasis from treatment of illness to prevention and support for people to live a healthy lifestyle.”
