The prime minister this week joined the health secretary and health minister Lord Darzi at one of a series of ‘citizens’ juries’ on health.

Gordon Brown, Alan Johnson and Lord Darzi talked to around 120 patients and selected members of the public about their priorities for the health service at an event in Birmingham.

This is one of a series held on Tuesday in each strategic health authority.

Mr Brown chatted to patients and listened via a video link-up to views being expressed at the other events across the country.

He said there was ‘no more important service than the NHS’. The prime minister personally increased pressure to improve access to primary care.

‘Looking at access will be part of what we announce in the next couple of months as part of the comprehensive spending review,’ he said.

‘This will include looking at doctors on call in supermarkets and NHS Direct.’

Lord Darzi has asked private companies to attend a conference next month to feed into his review. High street chains including Virgin, Boots and Lloyds have been invited.

Speaking ahead of the event he said that in early consultation with staff and patients as part of his review of the NHS, access was highlighted as an ‘issue’. His comments came days after Mr Johnson told GP practices to open when it suited patients, not when it suited them (see full story here).

‘In terms of out-of-hours care this is one of the challenges that has been put to us,’ he said.

Tuesday’s meetings took place just 18 months after former health secretary Patricia Hewitt held a similar public consultation which fed into the government’s white paper Our Health, Our Care, Our Say.

Also speaking ahead of the consultation Mr Johnson said that unlike the previous consultation Tuesday’s event would be ‘more than a listen and learn event; this is an engage and get involved event’.

‘Our principle aim is to get away from this view that the NHS is Whitehall- and DoH-led we want to get away from this top-down approach’.

Mr Johnson said he hoped the consultation and Lord Darzi’s subsequent review would help the NHS ‘build towards the next 10 years’.

He said: ‘We want to develop a healthcare system that is completely focused on patient care and moves away from structural change.’

At the sessions, run by Opinion Leader Research, participants were expected to be asked:

  • What are the main concerns about healthcare and the health service?

  • What factors are needed for a high-quality service?

  • What action needs to be taken to tackle the spread of healthcare-acquired infection?

  • What are the barriers to accessing health services?

The consultation will be led by ‘clinical champions’ appointed by Lord Darzi and each SHA. These clinicians - eight in each SHA - will then be charged with leading local consultations until June next year when the outcome of their work will be fed into Lord Darzi’s final review.

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