NHS (60th Anniversary)

I am grateful for that intervention and it will not surprise my hon. Friend to know that I feel strongly that the NHS needs to become much more focused on outcomes for patients. That policy does not derive from our thinking alone, but is the product of speaking to literally thousands of people in the national health service. They say that they want to care for the patient and determine their actions on the basis of the patient's need in a framework where policy is geared to that. Unfortunately, although the Government have been talking about outcomes since my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney and I started to make it clear that we would move in that direction, they are not designing health outcomes into the policy of the NHS. The policy, as dictated by the Government through national targets, is still geared towards processes and targets rather than health outcomes for patients. A change of direction is vital.