Government Health and Care Bill 2021 Prompts Controversy
The latest government proposals to make changes to the way the NHS and healthcare provision is run in England has received both positive and negative responses.
New proposals
The Government's new Health and Care Bill, introduced to parliament earlier this month, aims, if passed, to be implemented by April of next year.
Some of the key proposals include the following:
- The existing Clinical Commissioning Groups which currently oversee the provision of NHS services in their local areas are to be abolished and replaced with Integrated Care Systems. This is intended to increase collaboration between various local authorities, healthcare providers and other agencies within a specific region.
- NHS England and NHS Improvement will merge
- The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will be given increased powers in relation to the NHS and delivery of healthcare. This will include the power to direct the way the NHS provides its services and to intervene in decisions about significant changes.
Wide-ranging responses
The chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, Jeremy Hunt, has commented that 'whilst we welcome the direction of travel in health and care services outlined in the Bill, the proposals for Integrated Care Systems must be subject to transparent and independent Ofsted-style assessments on the quality and safety of care if improvements are to be delivered to patients.'
The British Medical Journal has expressed concerns regarding what it describes as 'sweeping new powers' for the Health and Social Care Secretary, commenting that they 'lack rationale and warrant scrutiny'.
The Labour party has objected to the new bill on the basis of timing, arguing that introducing structural changes to the way the NHS runs when the service should be focussed on dealing with the impact of Covid on waiting lists, is ill-advised.
The Health Foundation, concerned about waiting lists and the challenges facing the NHS post-Covid, has written an open letter requesting that the new Bill is amended to include a commitment by the government to ensuring adequate staffing levels across the NHS.
Furthermore, the Chief Executive of The Health Foundation has reportedly commented that the new powers for the Secretary of State are 'politically driven and risks taking healthcare backwards'.
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