Editorial Wednesday 7 December 2011: A farewell to targets? Here are 60 more

"The fault lies with big government. With their endless targets and reorganisations, Labour have tried to run the NHS like a machine. But it’s not a machine full of cogs. It is a living, breathing institution made up of people – doctors, nurses, patients.

"This lever-pulling from above – it has got to stop. With Andrew Lansley’s reform plans, we’re going to give the NHS back to people. We’ll say to the doctors: those targets you hate, they’re gone.

“But in return, we’ll do more for patients. Choice about where you get treated. Information about how good different doctors are, how good different hospitals are.
Information about the things that really matter, cancer survival times ... the rate of hospital infections ... your chances of surviving if you have a stroke.

“We will give doctors back their professional responsibility. But in exchange they will be subject to patient accountability. That’s why we can look the British people in the eye and say this party is the party of the NHS now, today, tomorrow, always”.
David Cameron, 2009 Conservative Party conference

The Telegraph is re-affirmed as the leak receptacle of choice with its publication of this list of 60 new clinical targets for the NHS.

PREMATURE DEATH
1 Numbers of extra years that, on average, a person could have lived if given access to timely and effective health care.
2-3 Life expectancy at 75, for both men and women.
4-7 Mortality rates in under-75s from: cardiovascular disease; respiratory disease; liver disease and cancer.
8-13 One and five-year survival rates for colorectal (bowel), breast and lung cancer.
14 Mortality rate in under-75s, above the normal, in adults with serious mental illness.
15-17 Rates of infant mortality, neonatal mortality and stillbirths.
18 Mortality rate in under-75s, above the normal, in adults with learning disabilities.
QUALITY OF LIFE FOR PEOPLE WITH LONG-TERM CONDITIONS
19 Health-related quality of life for people with long-term conditions.
20 Proportion of people feeling supported to manage their condition.
21 Employment of people with long-term conditions.
22–26 Unplanned hospital admissions in adults with conditions like asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
27-29 Unplanned hospitalisation for asthma, diabetes and epilepsy in under-19s.
30 The health-related quality of life for carers.
31 Employment of people with mental illness.
32 Quality of life for people with dementia.
HELPING PEOPLE RECOVER AFTER ILL HEALTH OR INJURY
33 Emergency hospital admissions for acute conditions (ie injury or sudden onset of ill health) that should not usually require hospital admission.
34 Emergency readmissions to hospital within 30 days of discharge.
35-37 Health improvements following certain pre-planned operations, namely: hip and knee replacements; groin hernia; varicose veins.
38 Numbers of children who have to be admitted to hospital due to very bad chest (lower respiratory tract) infections.
39 Degree of recovery from injuries and trauma.
40 Degree of recovery six months after a stroke.
41 Degree of recovery after brittle-bone fractures, namely the proportion recovering previous levels of mobility after 30 days and 120 days.
42 Proportion of over-65s still at home 91 days after being discharged.
43 Proportion of over-65s offered rehabilitation after discharge from general or community hospital.
PATIENT EXPERIENCE
44 Patient experience of GP services; GP out-of-hours services; NHS dental services; hospital care (overarching indicators).
45 Patient experience of outpatient services.
46 How well hospitals respond to in-patients’ personal needs (ie basic care such as help with eating and going to the lavatory).
47 Patient experience of A&E.
48 Ease of access to GP services and NHS dental services.
49 Women’s experience of maternity services.
50 A measure of the experience of end-of-life care (by asking bereaved carers).
51 Patient experience of community mental health services.
52 Children’s/young people’s experience of health care.
TREATING PEOPLE SAFELY
53 Reported patient safety incidents.
54 Safety incidents involving severe harm or death.
55 Incidence of hospital-related venous thromboembolism (VTE), a type of serious blood clot.
56 Incidence of health care-associated MRSA and Clostridium difficile infection.
57 Incidence of serious pressure ulcers, often acquired due to staying in hospital beds and not being moved often enough.
58 Incidence of medication errors causing serious harm.
59 Admission of full-term babies to neonatal care.
60 Incidence of harm to children due to 'failure to monitor’ their condition.