A new bargain must be struck with the people of Wales if the NHS is to continue to thrive in and beyond these times of austerity, Health Minister Mark Drakeford will say today (Friday 6 June 2014).
Speaking at the NHS Confederation’s annual conference in Liverpool, the Minister will say that the role of the Welsh Government is to create the right conditions for people to live full and healthy lives.
He will say it is the responsibility of all people is to take advantage of those conditions and take custodianship of their own health, instead of handing it over to the NHS.
Professor Drakeford will say that although the NHS remains free at the point of use – as Aneurin Bevan intended – it is not free of obligation.
The Welsh Government’s recently published Public Health White Paper seeks to support people to live healthier lives and prevent harm with proposals to introduce:
- a minimum unit price for alcohol;
- standards and regulations for cosmetic practitioners;
- tougher restrictions on internet tobacco sales and
- a proposition to restrict the use of e-cigarettes in public places, bringing them into line with other tobacco products.
Addressing delegates from around the UK at the conference, Professor Drakeford will say:
“Governments have a responsibility to create the right conditions in which individuals can live full and healthy lives, taking responsibility for their own health.
“Each of us has a duty to look after ourselves – we must all become custodians of our own health, instead of handing ownership of our health to the nearest professional as we have traditionally done.
“The NHS is there to help us in our time of need but with that comes a responsibility to use its resources wisely. The NHS is free from charge but not free from obligation..
“This then is the new bargain in this ongoing age of austerity – it is the bargain of co-production at an individual and population level.
“At an individual level, the health professional and patient must work together, rather than the patient putting their health problem in the hand of the nurse, GP or consultant. The conversation we have with patients cannot always open with the question ‘What can I do for you?’ as though the encounter is one in which the health service takes onto its own shoulders the whole of the responsibility for that encounter.
“On a population level, the new bargain means that everyone accepts responsibility for their own health and a responsibility for managing demand on the NHS while the Welsh Government helps create an environment where it is easier to make healthier decisions while also safeguarding an NHS which remains firm to Bevan’s founding principles of universality, equity and free at the point of delivery.”
He will add:
“Wales has a strong history of responding to citizens’ concerns and introducing practical regulations which make a positive contribution to protecting health
“Taking concerted, collective action to address public health concerns remains one of the most powerful contributions any government can make to the welfare and wellbeing of its population. And I’m very proud that Wales has a long and progressive tradition when it comes to taking action to protect public health in Wales.
“For the nay-sayers, any attempt to protect public health is met with the inevitable cries of nanny-statism but our proposals, such as those outlined in our Public Health White Paper, take a preventative approach by seeking to intervene at points which have most potential for long-term benefits, both in the health of individuals and in helping avoid higher, long-term societal and financial costs associated with avoidable ill health.”
