Results of latest RCGP survey on Health and Social Care
Bill
10 October 2011
More than seventy per cent of respondents to a
poll carried out by the Royal College of General Practitioners say
they strongly agree or agree with proposals by some organisations
and clinicians that the Health and Social Care Bill be
withdrawn.
The snapshot poll, conducted via the online tool SurveyMonkey,
is the latest in a series of three commissioned by RCGP Chair Dr
Clare Gerada to assess the views of the College membership as the
Bill passes through the final stages of Parliamentary process. It
attracted the largest response to date, with more than 1,900 people
taking part.
When asked what they thought the result of the reforms would
be:
- More than 50 per cent (987 respondents) said that the
reforms would increase the involvement of the private sector
- More than 43 per cent (828 respondents) said that they
strongly disagreed that they would reduce bureaucracy in the
NHS
- Only 4 per cent (75 respondents) agreed that the reforms would
result in better care for patients
More than 93 per cent of respondents said that they did not
feel reassured by Government’s response, and more than 90 per
cent said that their support for the reforms remained either
unchanged (63.5 per cent), or that they were less supportive (29.2
per cent).
When asked whether they personally wished to be involved on the
board of a clinical commissioning group, almost 70% of respondents
said that they did not. However, 16.1 per cent of respondents
said they wished to be involved, and nearly half of them said that
they were ‘excited about [the] role’ (48 per cent), and that they
felt confident in their commissioning skills (44.3 per cent).
Health and Social Care Bill -
survey results 
RCGP Chair Dr Clare Gerada said:
“The survey confirms what we have been saying all along; the
College has made its support for placing GPs at the heart of the
health service clear, but the results of this snapshot survey are
impossible to ignore, and the majority of respondents still have
concerns about commercialisation, increased bureaucracy and
standards of patient care that the Government has not allayed.
“With the Bill making its way through the House of Lords, it is
important that peers have as much information as possible so that
they can ask the relevant questions, and make informed choices
about what happens next. We must make sure that the reforms do not
diminish the care we provide to our patients.”
Further Information
RCGP Press office – 020 3188 7574/7575/7576/7569
Out of hours: 0203 188 7659
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.