Due to the urgent need to cut the budget deficit down to size, the government has been cost-cutting in nearly every department. Although ministers said they would not cut the budgets of frontline services like the NHS, they are still planning some important changes.
In brief, these include the following:
• £80 billion of funding will be given to GPs to manage care in their areas
• Primary care trusts will be scrapped by 2013
• Foundation Trust hospitals will allowed more freedom to treat private patients and boost income
• Health Watch, a patient champion body, will be set up
• Patients will be given more control over their medical records and care, and they will also be allowed to communicate with their doctor via email
• Hospitals will be forced to inform patients of mistakes made during their care
