NHS hospital funding in England to be tied to patient ratings, ministers say | Health policy

Money for hospitals in England is to be linked to patient ratings, ministers have announced, as one of the health bosses tasked with implementing the government’s 10-year plan for the NHS in the country warned it faced an existential threat unless it reconnected with the public.

The measure, under which healthcare providers could lose a proportion of their funding if patients are unhappy, is part of a package the health secretary hopes will incentivise investment in services that could prevent the need for hospital visits – and encourage listening to patients more.

But clinicians have expressed concern the proposal risks performing surgery on the NHS with a blunt instrument, rather than the scalpel required.

Under the proposals, which were first reported by the Times, patients are to…