Public Health
experts launch consultation on draft Bill to restore the NHS
|
Is this email
not displaying correctly?
|
|
|
NHS Reinstatement Bill
Leading public health experts have launched a consultation on a new
Bill that aims to reverse the failings of the Health and Social Care
Act 2012 and fully restore the National Health Service (NHS) in England
as an accountable public service.
The Bill proposes to abolish competition and the purchaser-provider
split, re-establish public bodies and public accountability, and
restrict the role of commercial companies. It draws on some of the best
examples of NHS administration over its history, retains some features
of the reforms laid out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012, and
would be implemented on a timescale determined by the secretary of
state.
The Bill would
- reinstate the government’s legal duty to
provide the NHS in England
- re-establish district health authorities in
England as a special health authority with regional committees and
modified functions
- re-establish district health authorities
(coterminous with local authorities), with family health services
committees to administer arrangements with GPs, dentists, and
others
- abolish competition and marketised bodies such
as NHS trusts, NHS foundation trusts, and clinical commissioning
groups, as well as Monitor, the regulator of NHS foundation trusts
and commercial companies
- end virtually all commissioning and allow
commercial companies to provide services only if the NHS could not
do so and otherwise patients would suffer
- re-establish community health councils to
represent the interest of the public in the NHS
- prohibit ratification of the Transatlantic
Trade and Investment Partnership and other international treaties
without the approval of Parliament (and the devolved bodies) if
they would cover the NHS.
This Bill is a vital public health measure. It will both restore the
NHS in England and reverse more than two decades of policies which have
been intent upon privatising NHS services and funding, ultimately to
its demise.
As the failures of the 2012 Act become daily ever more obvious, this
Bill provides a template for very necessary reinstatement and reform.
The Bill has been drafted by barrister Peter Roderick with the
assistance of Prof Allyson Pollock. They have benefitted from
discussions with individuals and organisations concerned about the
increasing role of the market in the NHS in England over the last 25
years. They wish to consult on the Bill with those who share their
concern and our commitment to reinstating fully the NHS as an
accountable public service as smoothly as possible and with only a
minimal and exceptional role for commercial companies.
NHS Reinstatement Bill
Responses to the Bill can be sent by email to
a.pollock@qmul.ac.uk
p.roderick@qmul.ac.uk
|
|
|
|
|