The NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has published its Strategic Plan 2013-2018.
The five year plan outlines action to•deliver a modern, world-class blood service for England and North Wales that is responsive and attractive to donors; to work with NHS hospitals so that NHSBT services are as accessible and effective as possible; better integrate and plan end-to-end blood supply chain from donor through to hospital blood banks; to match world-class performance in organ donation and transplantation by building on the progress of the last few years and launching an ambitious longterm strategy for the whole of the UK; and build on unique skills and capabilities in tissues, stem cells, diagnostic and apheresis services to deliver high quality, cost-effective therapies for patients. The improvements over the next five years will be achieved by delivering efficiency savings, says the NHSBT, allowing the price of a unit of blood to drop to £122 in 2013/14 from the current price of £123. NHS Blood and Transplant will also build on the recent success of increasing deceased organ donation by 50% since 2008 by launching a new UK-wide strategy for 2013-20. Commenting on the five year plan, NHS Blood and Transplant chief executive, Lynda Hamlyn, said: “Our purpose is clear – to save and improve the lives of as many people as possible and our ambition is to be the best organisation of our type in the world. We want to be the supplier of choice to our customers, respected globally for our clinical and scientific expertise and recognised by our staff as a great place to work. “The new plan builds on our track record of success in recent years, but is no less ambitious in our determination to further improve the blood services we provide; increase the rates of organ donation to match the best in the world; extend the benefits available from our unique combination of diagnostic and therapeutic expertise; and work with hospitals to secure the best possible patient blood management.”
