Neil Churchill, Chief executive for Asthma UK, asks in his blog "If you were unhappy with the quality of a local NHS service, would you want the right to challenge it?”
Apparently “One of the reforms the Government is considering is a Right to Challenge within the NHS. They envisage it could be used by patients to challenge poor quality. They also think it might be used by charities who think a service could be delivered more effectively.”
As a nation we used to have a reputation as a people who were slow to stand up for their rights. To encourage British shoppers to have confidence in getting a “better deal” the Office of Fair Trading launched a campaign way back in 2003 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2682707.stm which according to the latest research seems to have done the trick and we are now more likely to complain than any of our European neighbours!
So just what can you do if you feel the NHS care or treatment you receive is not up to scratch?
We do already have an independent organisation whose purpose is to help you in many ways and they have representatives available in most hospitals as well as on line.
The Patient Advice and Liaison on Service.
They can help you, your family or your carer with health-related questions, help resolve concerns or problems when you’re using the NHS, and help you to get more involved in your own healthcare.
Asthma UK are aware from patient feedback and from NHS data that asthma care is quite variable. There is much good practice but also pockets where standards are poor and believe that a Right to Challenge could allow patients to demand improvements. They are asking if there was a Right to Challenge would you use it? Why not join the debate here
http://blog.asthma.org.uk/making_use_of_the_ri.html
No comments:
Post a Comment