College Puts Pressure On PM Over Health
Reforms
9th May 2011
The Royal College of General Practitioners has
written to Prime
Minister David Cameron listing changes that must be made to the
Health Bill to protect the principles of the NHS.
In its analysis paper, The Government’s
Health Reforms: An Analysis of the Need for Clarification and
Change, the RCGP provides evidence which refutes the need
for wholesale reorganisation of the health service, and calls on
the Government to protect the principles of the NHS by exercising
necessary change or clarification on the following areas of the
Health Bill:
1.
Comprehensive Health Care
2.
Charging for Health Care
3.
Issues relating to Market Forces in Health Care
4.
Issues relating to EU Competition
5.
Accountability and Conflicts of Interest
6.
Resource Allocation and Risk Pooling
7.
Practice Boundaries
8.
Workforce and Training Issues
9.
Confidentiality
Topping the list of changes is that the Bill
should make it clear that the Secretary of State has a duty to
provide – or secure provision of – a comprehensive health service
throughout England.
At the heart of the concerns is the lack of
clarity over the impact on patients. The legislation and reform
agenda does not sufficiently spell out the protection of patients
and services in the desired competitive market.
In addition to the nine key areas, the College
has made 24 recommendations for the Bill, which include:
On Practice
Boundaries
That the proposal to undermine the
relationship between a local GP and local patients, by abolishing
practice boundaries is revised.
On Charging for Health
Care
That commissioners or providers should not be
able charge patients for health care services that are currently
provided free by the NHS or are recommended by NICE.
On Issues Relating to Market
Forces in Health Care
That the Bill should place a duty on Monitor,
the NHS National Commissioning Board (NCB) and GP Commissioning
Consortia (GPCC) to enable collaboration to provide integrated
services to meet patients’ needs without fear of a competition
referral.
On Resource Allocation and Risk
Pooling
That there is clarity as soon as possible as
to which allocation formula will be used by GP consortia for
commissioning hospital care.
and on
Confidentiality
That there is as an absolute assurance that
the Bill will not force doctors to breach their duty of
confidentiality.
The recommendations aim not only to protect
the principles of the NHS, but also to make provision
for the NHS of the future, addressing issues including GP
shortages and the need for enhanced GP training to ensure that
future GPs are confident as well as competent in delivering high
quality care to patients in an increasingly complex healthcare
environment.
The paper argues that changes and improvements
could be brought about by models of care such as GP Federations,
where practices can pool expertise and resources to deliver broader
services to patients close to their homes.
RCGP Chair Dr Clare Gerada
said:
“We understand that the NHS needs to change,
and we have said all along that the College is not opposed to
health service reform.
“The Bill is attracting a lot of opposition,
but this paper sets out our comprehensive analysis of RCGP
concerns, based on evidence, which we hope the government will act
upon as the Bill continues to pass through parliament.
“The RCGP will continue to promote the
development of high quality, effective patient centred care, with
GPs at the heart of NHS service delivery. The reforms promote
competition without sufficient clarification of how services to
patients will be safeguarded and improved. We believe that provider
side reforms could deal with many of the issues without the need
for repeated organisational change or by many of the proposed
reforms.”
FURTHER INFORMATION
RCGP Press office – 020 3188 7574 / 7575 /
7576
Out of hours: 07885 958 632
press@rcgp.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Royal College of General Practitioners is
a network of over 42,000 family doctors working to improve care for
patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards
of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on
education, training, research and clinical standards.