Northern public urged to give views on health reform

Legislation that the British government plans to use to slash bureaucracy in the Northern Ireland health service and save tens of million of pounds was put out today for two months of public consultation.

Health Minister Shaun Woodward’s plans will scrap the present 18 health and social services trusts and replace them with just five.

It is planned that the new trusts will assume full operational control in April 2007.

The minister said it was the next step in putting patients first.

“This massive cut in bureaucracy will save tens of millions of pounds. I will ensure this money goes into frontline services and new drug treatments,” he said.

Mr Woodward said he wanted patients to know the government would waste no more time in reforming health care.

“I want the trusts up and running by the spring of next year. These regulations are essential if we genuinely want to get money out of bureaucracy and into helping patients,” he added.

As well as the five trusts, reforms will provide for a new Strategic Health and Social Services Authority, which will be responsible for performance managing and developing health and personal social services.

There will be seven Local Commissioning Groups, mirroring the planned seven new district council areas. They will subsume the functions of the existing Local Health and Social Care groups, which are also being abolished.

A single Patient and Client Council will replace the four Health and Social Services Councils.