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Statement by Ciarán Devane, chief executive at Macmillan Cancer Support, who introduced the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg as he addressed ten leading health charities and outlined his vision for the NHS.
Responding to the comments by the Deputy Prime Minister, Ciarán Devane says:
“We welcome the commitment given to clinical networks so that experts in cancer and other conditions can be as involved as GPs in decisions about the treatment and care of patients. “The assurance that competition in the NHS won’t lead to patients care being fragmented and disjointed is also vitally important to all those who use the NHS and work for it. “But we are concerned that Nick Clegg hasn’t yet been persuaded of the importance of having the patient’s voice in the room when bodies like the NHS Commissioning Board are making their key decisions. We want patients involved more than just individually in the choices about their care. The voice of patient experience must also be at the table when the big strategic decisions are being made - about how the NHS and treatment and care are designed. If we truly want to put the patient at the heart of the health care system and make the future affordable, we need to make these changes now.”
“We welcome the commitment given to clinical networks so that experts in cancer and other conditions can be as involved as GPs in decisions about the treatment and care of patients.
“The assurance that competition in the NHS won’t lead to patients care being fragmented and disjointed is also vitally important to all those who use the NHS and work for it.
“But we are concerned that Nick Clegg hasn’t yet been persuaded of the importance of having the patient’s voice in the room when bodies like the NHS Commissioning Board are making their key decisions. We want patients involved more than just individually in the choices about their care. The voice of patient experience must also be at the table when the big strategic decisions are being made - about how the NHS and treatment and care are designed. If we truly want to put the patient at the heart of the health care system and make the future affordable, we need to make these changes now.”
The ten charities are: Age UK; Asthma UK; Breakthrough Breast Cancer; British Heart Foundation; British Lung Foundation; Diabetes UK; Macmillan Cancer Support; Neurological Alliance; Rethink; Stroke Association. Together, they represent 17 million people.