NEW YORK – The UK government's decision to abolish NHS England by bringing its operations under the direct control of the UK Department of Health and Social Care has been met with cautious optimism by companies and organizations that could be affected by the reorganization.

纽约——英国政府决定通过将英格兰国家医疗服务体系（NHS England）的运营置于英国卫生和社会关怀部的直接控制下来废除该机构，这一决定受到了可能受重组影响的公司和组织的谨慎乐观态度。

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced last week his plans to

英国首相基尔·斯塔默上周宣布了他的计划

scrap the body

刮除车身

, a dozen years after it was established to lead the National Health Service in England. The delivery of healthcare in the UK is federated, and the NHS is led by similar bodies in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. No similar plans have been announced in the other three UK countries.

，这个机构是在十几年前创立的，目的是领导英格兰的国家健康服务。英国的医疗卫生服务是联邦性质的，威尔士、苏格兰和北爱尔兰也有类似的机构来领导国家健康服务。英国其他三个地区尚无类似计划公布。

In a March 13 speech before Parliament, UK Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting laid out the rationale for the decision, stating that the government had 'inherited an NHS going through the worst crisis in its history.' He cited a September 2024

英国卫生和社会关怀大臣韦斯·斯特里廷在3月13日向议会发表的讲话中阐述了这一决定的理由，他表示政府“继承了一个正经历其历史上最严重危机的国民保健服务（NHS）”。他引用了2024年9月的数据。

report

报告

published by Lord Ara Darzi which attributed the NHS's issues to the 2012 reorganization that led to the establishment of NHS England, calling it a 'calamity without international precedent.' More than 300 new NHS organizations were created, he added, leaving the UK drowning in complex bureaucracy.

由阿劳·达尔齐勋爵发表，将 NHS 的问题归因于 2012 年的重组，那次重组导致了 NHS 英格兰的建立，称其为“前所未有的国际灾难”。他补充说，300 多个新的 NHS 组织成立，使英国陷入了复杂的官僚主义之中。

Streeting noted that the staff at NHS England and DHSC had doubled in the past decade, and that the budget for NHS England's staff and administrative costs is now £2 billion ($2.6 billion). The government's decision is to now turn NHS England and DHSC into one organization, starting by eliminating tasks where the two bodies overlap.

斯特里廷指出，过去十年中，英国国家医疗服务体系（NHS England）和卫生与社会关怀部（DHSC）的员工人数翻了一番，目前 NHS England 的员工和行政成本预算已达 20 亿英镑（26 亿美元）。政府的决定是将 NHS England 和 DHSC 合并为一个组织，首先从消除两个机构重叠的任务开始。

In two years, NHS England will be brought into the DHSC completely, Streeting said..

斯特里廷表示，两年内，英格兰 NHS 将完全并入 DHSC。

The decision to streamline NHS England and DHSC was broadly welcomed by the British

简化英格兰 NHS 和 DHSC 的决定受到英国各界的广泛欢迎。

In Vitro

体外

Diagnostics Association, which represents test manufacturers in the country. Paul Fisher​​​​, director of policy and programs at BIVDA, noted that the IVD sector plays a 'key part' in the UK healthcare system and estimated that about three-quarters of clinical decisions are supported by diagnostics..

英国诊断协会 (BIVDA) 代表该国的测试制造商。BIVDA 的政策和项目总监保罗·费舍尔指出，体外诊断行业在英国医疗保健系统中扮演着“关键角色”，并估计约四分之三的临床决策依赖于诊断的支持。

He pointed out that the Starmer government has

他指出，斯塔默政府已经

introduced

引入

a 10-Year Plan for UK healthcare centered on 'three shifts,' including moving healthcare from analogue to digital technology, providing care in communities rather than in hospitals, and reorienting from a system that treats sickness to one focused on prevention.

英国医疗保健的十年计划，重点放在“三个转变”上，包括从模拟技术转向数字技术、在社区而非医院提供护理，以及从治疗疾病转向注重预防的体系。

'Diagnostics are particularly well suited to moving from sickness to prevention and moving treatment from hospital to home,' said Fisher. However, he said that making new tests available for use within the NHS is constrained by bureaucracy as it insists on large amounts of data to vet any new diagnostics before implementing them, and the NHS’s complex structure means that companies often need to liaise with the body at multiple points of contact.

“诊断技术特别适合从治疗疾病向预防转变，并将治疗从医院转移到家庭，”费舍尔说。然而，他表示，在 NHS 内部推广新测试的使用受到官僚体制的限制，因为 NHS 坚持要求大量数据来审核任何新的诊断技术，然后才能实施。此外，NHS 的复杂结构意味着公司通常需要在多个接触点与其进行沟通协调。

Because of this, the decision to streamline the operations of NHS England and DHSC could prove beneficial..

正因为如此，精简 NHS 英格兰和 DHSC 运营的决定可能会证明是有益的。

'The abolition of NHS England is broadly welcomed,' said Fisher. 'Removal of duplicate functions, freeing up of resources, and allowing a focus on delivery are all positive steps.' He noted that one concern is that the restructuring could distract from operations, as the NHS adjusts to changes. But considering the body was set up in 2013, Fisher said that BIVDA does not anticipate major challenges.

“废除英格兰国家医疗服务体系（NHS England）受到了广泛欢迎，”费舍尔说。“取消重复职能、释放资源并专注于落实都是积极的举措。”他指出，一个担忧是重组可能会分散运营的注意力，因为 NHS 正在适应这些变化。但考虑到该机构成立于 2013 年，费舍尔表示 BIVDA 不预计会有重大挑战。

'As long as the government focuses on adoption, regulation, and innovation, we are fully supportive of the plan to merge NHSE into DHSC,' he said..

“只要政府专注于采用、监管和创新，我们完全支持将NHSE并入DHSC的计划，”他说道。

That sentiment is shared by some others in the sector. Adrian Smith, CEO of Oxford Gene Technology, said that the planned abolition of NHS England won't likely have a direct effect on the firm. Based in Kidlington, outside of Oxford, OGT, sells fluorescence

该行业的其他一些人也持有相同的观点。牛津基因技术公司首席执行官阿德里安·史密斯表示，计划中的英国国家医疗服务体系的废除不太可能对公司产生直接影响。该公司位于牛津郊外的基德灵顿，销售荧光产品。

in situ

原位

hybridization probes, microarray, and next-generation sequencing products for research and clinical use.

用于研究和临床用途的杂交探针、微阵列和下一代测序产品。

But Smith also said the reorganization could have potential negative consequences if not managed well. 'As with any major change program within healthcare systems around the world, a restructure of this magnitude could result in uncertainty and delays, which could impact patient services,' he said.

但是，史密斯还表示，如果重组管理不善，可能会带来潜在的负面后果。他说：“正如世界上任何医疗系统内的重大变革计划一样，如此规模的重组可能会导致不确定性和延误，从而影响患者服务。”

The same thoughts were echoed by Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK's chief executive. 'Nearly one in two of us will be diagnosed with cancer during our lifetimes,' Mitchell said. 'It's essential that improving the lives of cancer patients is a top priority for the UK Government, and this change must not impact efforts toward achieving that ambition,' she said..

英国癌症研究中心首席执行官米歇尔·米切尔也表达了同样的观点。米切尔说：“我们几乎每两个人中就有一人会在一生中被诊断出患有癌症。” 她表示：“改善癌症患者的生活必须是英国政府的首要任务，这一改变绝不能影响实现这一目标的努力。”

Mitchell added that the London-based cancer research organization will continue to work with DHSC and NHS England on a National Cancer Plan for England. The UK government announced

米切尔补充说，这家位于伦敦的癌症研究组织将继续与卫生和社会关怀部（DHSC）以及英格兰国家医疗服务体系（NHS England）合作，制定英格兰的国家癌症计划。英国政府宣布

plans

计划

to develop the effort, aligned with its 10-Year Plan for healthcare, last month.

上个月，为了推动这一努力，与其十年医疗保健计划保持一致。

Mitchell said that the envisioned National Cancer Plan for England will be 'vital to cutting waiting lists, preventing cancer cases, and fixing [the NHS] as a whole.'

米切尔表示，设想中的英格兰国家癌症计划将“对减少等候名单、预防癌症病例以及全面修复[国民健康服务]至关重要。”

According to Mark Street-Docherty, CEO at Global Access Diagnostics, it is not yet clear what the overall impact of the abolition of NHS England will have on the diagnostics industry.

根据全球诊断公司首席执行官马克·斯崔特-多切蒂的说法，目前尚不清楚废除 NHS 英格兰将对诊断行业产生怎样的整体影响。

'It largely depends on what the future combined entity will look like,' said Street-Docherty, who held similar management roles at IVD firms Elucigene, Rosa Biotech, and MicrosensDx. While the resulting entity that results from the combination of DHSC and NHS England will have less employees and potentially less capacity, it might be nimbler when it comes to adopting new technologies, policies and practices, he said..

“这在很大程度上取决于未来合并后的实体将是什么样子，”曾在IVD公司Elucigene、Rosa Biotech和MicrosensDx担任类似管理职务的Street-Docherty表示。他指出，虽然DHSC与NHS England合并后形成的实体将拥有较少的员工，可能能力也会有所下降，但在采用新技术、政策和实践方面可能会更加灵活。

Street-Docherty also said that it will be important to see how the 15 Health Innovation Networks established by NHS England will be managed going forward. These networks act as innovation arms of the NHS and support the adoption of new technologies across the healthcare system. Continued effective management of the HINs will be 'key to the success of innovative technology update and deployment,' he said..

Street-Docherty 还表示，重要的是要关注 NHS England 设立的 15 个健康创新网络（Health Innovation Networks）今后将如何管理。这些网络充当 NHS 的创新部门，支持整个医疗系统采用新技术。他称，对 HINs 持续有效的管理将是“创新技术更新和部署成功的关键”。

Another diagnostic service that might be affected by the abolition of NHS England is the NHS Genomic Medicine Service. NHS England in 2022 published a

另一个可能受到 NHS 英格兰废除影响的诊断服务是 NHS 基因组医学服务。NHS 英格兰在 2022 年发布了

five-year-plan

五年计划

on implementing genomics into the British healthcare system, and the Genomic Medicine Service, introduced in 2018, has played a core role in accomplishing that. Genomics England, a company set up by DHSC, has been a partner for NHS England in managing the NHS Genomic Medicine Service.

将基因组学应用到英国医疗系统，并且在2018年推出的基因组医学服务在此过程中发挥了核心作用。由DHSC设立的公司Genomics England一直是NHS England在管理NHS基因组医学服务方面的合作伙伴。

A spokesperson for Genomics England declined to comment on whether the plan to scuttle NHS England will impact the Genomic Medicine Service. NHS England referred a request seeking comment to DHSC who did not respond by the story’s deadline.

英格兰基因组学公司的发言人拒绝就废除 NHS 英格兰的计划是否会影响基因组医学服务发表评论。NHS 英格兰将寻求评论的请求转给了 DHSC，但后者在本文截稿前未作出回应。