Patient satisfaction: a significant factor in hospital funding

<![CDATA[

*Patient satisfaction: a significant factor in hospital funding*

Patient satisfaction will become a significant factor in hospital funding, the health secretary announced today, as the NHS faces up to the task of stripping £10bn out of its budget.

Unveiling a “preventative and people-centred” five-year plan for the health service, Andy Burnham floated the idea of offering staff a guarantee of employment in return for greater flexibility at work and wage restraint. He also urged closer integration between the NHS and social care.

More patients should be moved out of hospitals and treated in the community or in their own home, he proposed, reducing the number of “unplanned and unnecessary hospital admissions”.

Up to 10% of the payments to NHS trusts will eventually be dependent on adequate levels of patient satisfaction, Burnham explained. This will “represent a clear shift from a commoditised, production-line NHS to one that is people-centred, where staff is encouraged to see care through the eyes of their patients”.

Ref and Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/dec/10/hospital-funds-based-patient-satisfaction

]]>