The government has rowed back on plans to introduce full-scale price competition into the NHS, and ruled that providers will only be able to undercut the national tariff in ‘exceptional’ circumstances.
In a significant change of tack from the Department of Health, guidance issued to SHAs, PCTs and GP consortia by NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson says there is ‘no question’ of introducing competition on price into the NHS and that any change in services should be based on quality of care.
Sir David also claims that competition will not be allowed to hinder GPs and consultants working together to provide integrated care.
“We are encouraging GPs to work with local hospitals to improve care pathways,’ he writes. ‘This is clearly good practice and is not anti-competitive.”
Read more at Pulse.
Tags: Health policy
if this is genuinely implemented then it is a highly significant change in policy and will to some extent protect Trusts with inherently higher costs such as PFI contracts and heavy teaching comitments