Responding to the publication of the final report of the NHS Next Stage Review, Health Foundation Chief Executive Stephen Thornton said, 'with its strong emphasis on improving health care quality, this report sets out a positive way forward for the NHS. In that sense it hits all the right buttons.'
'The Health Foundation particularly welcomes the focus on clinical leadership', he continued. 'We have argued time and again for government to invest in developing clinical leaders for the explicit purpose of leading quality improvement. We are delighted that today this need has been identified.'
Stephen also welcomed Lord Darzi’s challenge to clinicians to take responsibility for the quality of the whole of a patient's journey through the system, not just isolated episodes of care. 'This represents a new way of thinking for many clinicians', he said.
The Health Foundation will continue to promote this in its own work to engage clinicians in improving healthcare quality.
Read The Health Foundation's submission to the Darzi review.