An NHS "information revolution" to save lives

David Cameron has called for an “information revolution” in the NHS to raise standards and help prevent tragic events like those that took place at Stafford Hospital from ever happening again.

Speaking to ‘Cure the NHS’ campaigners in Stafford, David called for a “full-scale, root-and-branch” inquiry into what went wrong at the hospital, and pledged that a Conservative government would:

• End Labour’s culture of top-down targets and tick-box adherence

• Tackle the “closed culture” which allows problems in hospitals to be kept secret

• Put key information on care standards and patient safety fully in the hands of the public

• Give people improved means of reporting bad practice as it occurs

• Allow patients to check a hospital or GP’s care record before they are treated

David said these were steps towards an NHS that “puts power in the hands of people, makes doctors respond to patients and genuinely saves lives”, and he added:

“We cannot let the headlines of last month turn into a shrug of the shoulders today.”

Read our document: “An NHS information revolution to save lives”