'No room to rest on our laurels'

3:05am Saturday 5th July 2008

Reporter Joe Willis takes a look at 60 yers of the NHS and what the future holds.

THE 60th anniversary of the National Health Service is a time for celebration, but not complacency, the region's most senior health official said.

Ian Dalton, chief executive of the North-East Strategic Health Authority, believes the region has some of the best health services in the country.

Over the past ten years, the region has seen a 58 per cent reduction in deaths from heart disease and a 28 per cent drop in cancer fatalities.

Indicators show that the North-East can boast the country's highest performing hospitals, the best maternity services, the best service for stroke victims, the most effective smoking cessation service and the highest patient and staff satisfaction levels in England.

Mr Dalton said: "The launch of the NHS in 1948 was ground-breaking, particularly in the North-East.

"People were worried about getting ill because they had to pay for treatment.

"For the Government to say 'we will provide you with free care at the point of consumption' was a dream frankly.

"Sixty years on, we should celebrate the fantastic benefits that the NHS has brought."

However, Mr Dalton believes many challenges still lie ahead for the region.

"It's been a fantastic 60 years, but that does not mean we can be in any way complacent," he said.

"Resting on your laurels means you can very quickly go from the top to the bottom of the class."

He considers the biggest challenge to be the region's record of the lowest life expectancy in the country.

Mr Dalton wants to see life-expectancy levels for North-East residents to become comparable with the best in the country.

To do this, he has pledged that the NHS, and the 74,000 members of staff employed in the region, will continue to offer the newest medical technology and the latest drugs.

Mr Dalton is determined that the NHS will also reduce the number of people in the region dying from smoking related diseases - currently about 5,500 a year.

Other tasks include encouraging people to take more exercise and drink responsibly.

Despite these challenges, Mr Dalton believes the future of the NHS in the North-East looks bright.

He said: "The NHS is doing a sterling job to improve the life quality and expectancy of people across the region and will continue to do so. Here's to the next 60 years."