Tag Archives: health care

Opinion: How time banks play a crucial role in health care

By David Boyle | Fri 13th February 2015 - 1:25 pm

Imagine that health professionals had the time to make everyone feel valued and cared for personally. Imagine there was an infinite resource to provide the kind of informal care that keeps people healthy. Imagine there was enough time.

Well, the peculiar thing – if you set the questions out like that – is that there is enough time, if you have the infrastructure and institutions that can use NHS patients, their time and experience, and that of their family and neighbours, as a resource.

That is becoming a familiar idea and the NHS is embracing the co-production agenda, even if they don’t yet very fully understand what it means. But the practical application of the idea is to set up time banks in hospitals and health centres, and I was involved in launching the UK’s first – at the Rushey Green Group Practice in Catford in 1999.

Liberal Democrats publish their election manifesto front page

By The Voice | Thu 12th February 2015 - 12:01 am

The Liberal Democrats are today launching the front page of their General Election manifesto. The front-page will set out the five Liberal Democrat priorities for forming a government after May 7th. The Scottish and Welsh Liberal Democrats will also today unveil their manifesto priorities, including greater devolution of power to Scotland and Wales. Nick Clegg will launch the campaign on a visit to a primary school in the Conservative-held constituency of Oxford West and Abingdon.

Posted in News | Also tagged education, envirnment, fairer taxes, featured, liberal democrats and Stronger Economy and a Fairer Society | 61 Comments

The Independent View: The merits of Swedish-style localism in improving UK healthcare

By Elliot Bidgood | Tue 22nd October 2013 - 9:04 am

Debate about NHS reform has been intense in 2013 as the service has entered its historic 65th year and the need for greater accountability has become apparent in response to lapses in care such as those at Mid Staffordshire.

In light of this, it is important to learn from what is already established practice abroad and one of the best examples is Sweden, a nation with a word-class healthcare system with a history and ethos closely comparable with our own revered health service. It was developed after the war by a reforming social democratic government, it is financed from general taxation, it is universally accessible and it was traditionally provided by the state. On closer inspection, however, there are significant differences in both design and performance which may be instructive for the UK.

Posted in The Independent View | Also tagged civitas and sweden | 11 Comments