Do You Trust the Health Secretary with YOUR Local Hospital? A bill currently making its way through parliament and due to be voted on at 11.00 today, the Care Bill, contains a clause giving MPs the right to close down a hospital with only 40 days’ notice. Brought about after the publication of the Francis Inquiry into the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation and the deaths - that occurred there, the bill proposes several reforms. These include a cap on the amount people will have to pay for their care and the creating of an Ofsted-style rating system for hospitals and care homes to help patients and the public to compare organisations. However, one aspect of the bill, clause 119, has been seen by many as highly controversial. The clause gives the Health Secretary new, extended powers to close or change local NHS services. While many believe that cutting through ‘red tape’ is a necessary step to ensure that bureaucracy doesn’t slow down necessary changes in the NHS, there are concerns over how these powers might be used, especially considering the short time frame necessary, and minimal need for public consultation. Sarah Wren, Chair of Healthwatch Hertfordshire, said “If there is a medical reason to alter things, such as services being badly affected due to care being delivered too broadly across too many centres, then there is an argument to be made for this kind of reform. The worry, however, is that this might be used as a way to balance the books and reduce costs in one place simply to prop up another area that is failing. If this places care uses at risk than it is absolutely unacceptable. It is vital that local commissioners - those who know the area and use the services - are consulted and able to bring their experience to any decisions regarding how resources are allocated.”
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 08:45:28 +0000
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