RCGP responds to the Health and Social Care
Bill
19th January
2011
RCGP Chair Dr Clare Gerada has issued the
College's response to the Government's Health and Social Care
Bill.
She said:
“The RCGP supports the overall principles of a
National Health Service, led by clinicians with patients at its
centre, that strives to deliver the best possible care and outcomes
for all.
“As GPs, we work in partnership to understand
what our patients want and need from their health service. It makes
sense for health professionals - both GPs and our specialist and
social care colleagues - to be involved in the planning of services
and in the allocation of contracts for these services. It also
makes sense for doctors to work with managers to help implement,
monitor and review these contracts and to encourage the development
of new services as needs arise.
“The College believes that good commissioning
is about being a good GP. It is about understanding the impact of
clinical decisions on the public’s health and purse, the need to
practise safely and effectively based on evidence, and how the
needs of patients can be best served through the design of services
that meet their needs. Good commissioning is about engaging in
clinical dialogues with colleagues in health and social care, and
establishing effective channels of communication between patients,
the public and elected representatives.
“It is our view that this is best achieved
through co-operation, collaboration and competition, but only where
it adds value. We continue to have concerns about how the
Government plans to implement its proposals.
“Depending on how the reforms are implemented,
we must guard against fragmentation and unnecessary duplication
within a health service that is run by a wide array of competing
public, private and voluntary sector providers, that delivers less
choice and fewer services, reduces integration between primary and
secondary care and increases bureaucratic costs.
“While we recognise the principle of patient
choice - and know that many patients value being given access to
information and choices about their healthcare - the Government
needs to strike a much fairer balance between the rights of the
individual and the efficiency and effectiveness of the NHS as a
whole, as well as taking the broader needs of society into
account.
“The College is concerned that some of the
types of choice outlined in the Government’s proposals run a risk
of destabilising the NHS and causing long-term harm to patient
outcomes, particularly in cases of children with disabilities,
those with multiple co-morbidities and the frail and elderly.
“While the Government has sought to reassure
us, we have yet to be presented with sufficient evidence to
underpin these reassurances. We look forward to reading the detail
in the Bill and having further dialogue with the Government about
this.
“At a time when the NHS is being told that it
needs to find £20 billion of savings no evidence has been presented
that demonstrates that the health care market approach has
increased quality and helped to manage costs. Not only will the
reorganisation be hugely expensive but the administration and
transaction costs of running a market are vast. The previous Health
Select Committee report on Commissioning found that the last 20
years of commissioning had led to increased transaction costs
estimated to be 14% of the total NHS budget.
“The publication of the Bill is a key stage in
the development of the Government’s plans for the future of health
and social care, but it is not the end point. GPs want this to work
for the sake of our patients and we will work constructively with
the Government, the Department of Health and others to achieve
this. However this cannot be done in a way or at a pace which puts
quality or patient safety at risk.
“The NHS has for more than 60 years delivered
a fair and efficient system of healthcare for millions of patients.
We acknowledge that improvements can always be made, but we must
work with the Government to protect the founding principles of the
NHS; the stakes are too high to lose it now.”
Read the Health and Social Care Bill here 
FURTHER INFORMATION
RCGP Press office – 020 3188 7576 / 7575 /
7574
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.