CONSERVATIVE leader David Cameron has unveiled plans which would force hospitals to compete for patients by publishing data such as cancer survival rates.

Graham Dines

CONSERVATIVE leader David Cameron has unveiled plans which would force hospitals to compete for patients by publishing data such as cancer survival rates.

Mr Cameron, who believes his initiative could save 100,000 lives a year, Mr Cameron said scrapping NHS targets based on processes not results could form a key part of Tory health reforms.

His proposals for what he termed “a patient information revolution” were contained in a policy consultation paper published today.

He acknowledged that Labour had succeeded in making the NHS as well-funded as the European average, but said that still produced “some of the worst health outcomes in the whole of Europe,” with England near the bottom of the table for five-year cancer survival rates.

“We've got a situation where we pump the same money into our health system as other countries but on the thing that actually matters, a patient's health and the results of their actual treatment, we are doing worse,” said Mr Cameron.

“The NHS isn't about improving the health of people, making them live longer, happier and more fulfilling lives, then what is it about?

This is about concentrating not on the how but the what, about concentrating not on what politicians care about but on those things that people really care about. How long will my dad survive if he gets cancer? What are my chances of a good life if I have a stroke? What are my chances of surviving from heart disease?

“This is the kind of information people want and need and this is the kind of information that will replace Labour bureaucratic - top-down and centralised ideas of accountability.”

European Commission Technical Assistance Office for the West Bank and Gaza Strip