Info drives choice in white paper

David Cameron

The government has given a new emphasis to a Cabinet Office body set up to drive the digitisation of public services in a white paper that tries to articulate the rationale for change across the public sector.

The Open Public Services white paper, released by Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday, indicates that the Government Digital Service is expected to play a key role in “championing” digital culture in the UK.

The service was set up earlier this year, following a merger between DirectGove and the Cabinet office digital delivery and digital engagement teams.

The white paper says it will create a “digital marketplace, opening up government data, information, applications and services to other organisations, including the provision of open application program interfaces for all suitable digital services.”

The paper specifically refers to telehealth and telecare which could be “significantly enhanced” by the utilising new digital technologies; although it accepts that many users will continue to value “face to face” relationships.

The white paper was originally expected last autumn, but has been delayed, reportedly by wrangling between the Conservatives and their Liberal Democrat coalition partners over the role of competition.

In a speech to launch the paper, Cameron said the current “old-fashioned, top-down, take-what-you’re-given” public service structure was “just not working for a lot of people” and his government wanted to release “the grip of state control and put power in people’s hands.”

To affect that change, the paper promises to give people more control over public services by supplying additional choice through added providers and more information on service performance.

It outlines a number of plans for health, although these generally reflect ideas in the Information Revolution consultation on a new information strategy for the NHS.

They include booking GP appointments online and giving patients access to data held by their GP. The white paper does not say when the information strategy might emerge.

However, it reiterates the government’s “transparency” agenda by calling for a number of datasets on healthcare provider performance to be released in open and accessible format.

As eHealth Insider reported last week, prescribing data by GP practice will be published by December 2011.

The paper also calls for complaints data by NHS hospital to be published by October this year “so that patients can see what issues have affected others and take better decisions about which hospital suits them.”

Clinical audit data detailing the performance of publicly funded clinical teams in treating key clinical healthcare conditions will be published by April 2012.

The white paper also repeats the government’s dedication to rolling out superfast broadband in rural locations, which would open up the potential for news types of services such as telehealth and telecare.

Unions reacted badly to the white paper. Unison chief Dave Prentis said it set out plans for the “wholesale privatisation” of public services, which would lead to “poorer quality, high cost services at the mercy of the open market and risky competition.”

Although the government was forced to run a ‘listening exercise’ on its NHS reforms, health secretary Andrew Lansley told last week’s NHS Confederation conference that the “principles” behind them remained intact and there would be a “level playing field” between the NHS and other providers.