The Running Horse Group: 2012

The Running Horse Group: Inspiring the Child Health Workforce to deliver high quality services that delight children and families

For and against the Health Bill: A one page summary

The Health and Social Care Bill was presented to Parliament in January 2011 and is the

largest proposed change to the NHS since its inception. This document summarises the key

arguments made for and against the bill. It has been written to inform those who have little

or no knowledge of the content of the Health Bill in order to start to form their opinions

regarding it.

Arguments for introducing the Bill Arguments against introducing the Bill

The coalition believe the Health Bill has three principles:

Putting patients at the centre of the NHS;

Changing the emphasis of measurement to clinical outcomes;

Empowering health professionals.

The NHS has had intensive funding increases in the last decade and these are not sustainable. The “Nicholson Challenge” (David Nicholson is the Chief Executive of the NHS) is to find £20 billion in "efficiency savings" by 2015. It is argued reform is needed to achieve these savings.

Private sector involvement already occurs in the NHS. The government argue the “any qualified provider” system (any organisation appropriately registered and regulated can treat patients at NHS prices) will improve patient choice.

It is argued GP-led clinical commissioning (groups of GPs will control budgets directly) has already been used successfully and its national roll out will improve the quality of patient care.

The coalition states it has listened to concerns raised, especially through the NHS Future Forum (an independent body which reviewed the bill during the so-called „pause‟. Initial issues such as the Secretary of State not having overall accountability have been removed.

A number of patient groups feel that patient involvement has not been enhanced or guaranteed by the bill.

A number of commentators have pointed to the fact that the health bill is not needed to deliver the reform intended, arguing that clinicial commissioning and improving integration of primary and secondary care can be achieved without wholesale legislation.

Many are concerned that restructuring at such scale and pace will create unnecessary uncertainty and compromise the urgent imperative to create £20 billion efficiency savings in the next few years.

The government have no mandate to implement the bill since it was not in the coalition‟s agreement and it was originally stated they would stop top-down re-organisation of the NHS.

Some Royal Colleges argue that although private sector involvement is beneficial for a certain number of typically minor surgical conditions, patients with complex needs, especially children, are not well served by private companies who will have no incentive to provide quality care.

The RCGP are very concerned the GPs do not have the skills to provide the clinical commissioning required. This will lead to commissioning being „commissioned‟ itself and further privatise services.

The Running Horse Group: 2012

The Running Horse Group: Inspiring the Child Health Workforce to deliver high quality services that delight children and families

Further reading around this complex area is necessary. The following websites

provide further information

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_and_Social_Care_Bill_2011

http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-11/healthandsocialcare.html

http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/current_projects/the_health_and_social_care_bill/i

ndex.html

Further links are available via the Running Horse Group site on LinkedIN

The Running Horse Group

Mission Statement:

Inspiring the child health workforce to deliver high quality services that delight children

and families.

Vision:

All children and young people experience a high quality and safe service delivered by

professional partnerships engaged in a culture of continuous improvement.

Objectives:

To deliver at least one day of quality improvement training to all senior paediatric

trainees on a regional basis by 2013 and all trainees by 2015

For the RCPCH curriculum to include a requirement for all paediatric trainees to have

performed one quality improvement project each year with measurable outcomes.