Hospital services’ debate ‘losing sight of report’

Press, 16 June 1988, Page 7

Hospital services’ debate ‘losing sight of report’

By

SARAH SANDS

Debate on the findings of the Task Force on Hospital and Related Services is losing sight of the fundamental principles of the report, says the Private Hospitals’ Association. The association’s president, Mr John Bethell, said yesterday that the debate was focusing on particular details in the report and on emotive attacks on the task force chairman, Mr Alan Gibbs. “In the process, fundamental principles or issues raised by the task force have been lost sight of,” he said. One such issue was the question of dividing the responsibilties of funding and providing services, said Mr Bethell.

The association agreed with the task force recommendation that these functions be separated.

“This means we do not agreee that the area health boards now being established should be responsible for both providing health services in their regions and allocating funds to their own services as well as those provided by the voluntary and private sectors.”

This view was based on simple logic and the association’s experience, said Mr Bethell. “It is understandable that if a board has to determine the allocation of funds to health service functions which it provides alongside voluntary and private services, the

board may tend to favour its own services.

“That this can happen has been our experience with some hospital and area health boards in respect of these services for which they already have the responsibility of allocating, or at least influencing the allocation of, funds.”

Incentives for health service managements to improve their performace was another issue that had received scant attention, said Mr Bethell.

“What concerns our association is that the direction of debate is leading to the status quo being maintained with no significant improvement being made to the health service.”