25 Oct Change NHS: Crowd-sourcing the prescription for an unwell NHS
This week, the Labour Government launched its long-awaited public consultation to “help build the NHS fit for the future”. The rallying cry invited everyone with an opinion of how best to improve the service to share it with the nation, publicly, in real time.
Send in the clowns
Unsurprisingly, internet users relished the opportunity to provide a combination of serious and unserious ideas:
- Remember Boaty McBoatface, the polar research ship that had its new name put to a public vote? One user suggested renaming the NHS to “Doctor McDocface”, a rebrand they say is “friendlier, more in touch with modern societies and generations”
- Want to encourage people to stay away from the NHS? Providing the public with a daily apple, as the old saying goes, would quite literally keep the doctor away. A tree can be provided to patients, the user added, if daily transport of an apple proves a logistical challenge
- One enterprising user suggested partnering with Wetherspoons to build a pub in every hospital, as “opening a pub in hospital would encourage them to get better quicker and free up beds”
Alas, many of these suggestions are disappearing, as the moderating powers-that-be crack down on everyone’s fun, but it is notable that the number of serious suggestions far exceeds those from the online comedians.
The exercise already points to a sincerity among the UK public to improve the NHS, and provides a looking glass into their very real concerns and priorities. By reviewing some of the most engaged with posts, themes are certainly starting to emerge.
“Have you heard of a thing called email?”
Improved digitisation of the NHS appears frequently. This includes requests for communication over email/text rather than letters, an improved one-stop-shop NHS app, electronic prescriptions, online appointment booking systems, and better digital coordination, to name a few. In keeping with the times, some also call for the NHS to embrace AI across all areas of patient management, from appointment to diagnosis, treatment, and follow up.
The role of the private sector
The NHS’s “P” word also rears its controversial head. For some responders, the NHS should be looking at partnerships with the private sector to support access to innovations and/or improvement of standards – such as AI. There are also those who point to the need for further, or in some cases complete, privatisation of the NHS.
But others disagree. There are those who feel private involvement in the NHS has gone too far, and it’s time to stop completely or row back. For these respondents, solutions include renationalising all services, preventing NHS staff from working in the private sector, or banning private companies from sitting on ICBs.
There is a sense that the NHS should be a research powerhouse, although what this means exactly is up for debate. It could mean an NHS-owned pharmaceutical company, for some. It could also mean taking advantage of the significant value anonymised patient data, for others.
Fixing the workforce challenge
Users have a range of opinions about the NHS workforce. In general, the priority among users is to increase the number of healthcare professionals working in the service – and for some, to reduce the number of “managers”.
Users seemed very supportive of making nursing training free again, pointing to the core support provided to the NHS by nursing students and nurses. On the other hand, an equally well-received suggestion was to obligate NHS-trained doctors to work at least five years in the NHS – carrot-and-stick approaches are unsurprising in public attitudes towards the workforce.
Either way, there is a clear sense that we need to support staff to enter and encourage them to stay in the service, and that doctors should be empowered to “get on with doctoring”.
Education, education, education
As a healthcare communications agency, much of our work centres on educating around services and diseases. By improving health literacy, we can help people to identify issues when they first notice them, and empower them to enter the healthcare system at the right time and in the right way.
These priorities appear to be shared by respondents to the consultation, many of whom call for better education about conditions, nutrition and healthy lifestyles, mental health, and how/when to seek medical advice. Ultimately, by improving public knowledge, people can make better-informed decisions about their health, leading to reduced strain on NHS services.
Go Wes…
Lord Darzi’s report diagnosed the dire condition of the NHS, and pointed to the need for urgent, radical treatment if it is going to survive. This consultation provides an opportunity to crowd source solutions with one of the largest focus groups, the UK public.
With this week’s Industrial Strategy emphasising life sciences and the nation’s health, and next week’s Autumn Budget potentially increasing the NHS budget, the message from Labour HQ is loud and clear – with money, comes reform.
Image credit: https://campaignresources.dhsc.gov.uk/