NHS bosses have welcomed extra competition and choice because it will make staff “up their game” for the benefit of patients.

Simon Trickett, director of strategy and business development at Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, told members of a health watchdog that competition in the NHS was a good thing.

Mr Trickett, speaking at a HOSC (health overview and scrutiny committee) meeting said: “The policy is about using competition to encourage organisations like ours to up our game and improve delivery.”

The Government wants to extend choice for patients so they can receive care from “any qualified provider”.

A qualified provider could be in the NHS or a private provider but all would have to be registered with the Care Quality Commission, the national health and social care watchdog, meet terms and conditions of the NHS standard contract, accept NHS prices and meet agreed service requirements and referral protocols.

NHS Worcestershire, the organisation which holds the purse strings for county healthcare until GPs take over the budget, was asked by the Department of Health to choose certain services to open up to other providers as a pilot.

Local NHS leaders have suggested podiatry services - treatments for feet - and the aim is to give patients the extra choice by next September.

Because of the tight time frame set by Government, NHS Worcestershire has not had time to consult widely with patients on which service to adopt for the pilot although GPs and others have suggested podiatry.

Simon Hairsnape, the West Mercia Cluster managing director for Worcestershire, said the availability of new providers should not make a difference to clinical care or price but around quality.

He said: “The expectation is that the quality difference will be around customer service, it will be around some of the softer things the NHS may not have done as well as it could.”

Mr Hairsnape said podiatry had been suggested as it was crucial for people to retain their mobility and independence but also asked HOSC members for their input.

Coun Penelope Morgan said: “People don’t want choice. They want good services locally they can access easily. Half can’t access the internet. How can they make a choice when they have no means of accessing the information?”

Mr Hairsnape said he did not disagree that the majority of people wanted high quality accessible healthcare but said he had doubt that patients also wanted choice.

Podiatry will be taken forward as the pilot.