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Paul
Paul Bywaters
Emeritus Professor of Social Work, Coventry University
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From: The Politics of Health Group mailing list [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Alex Scott-Samuel [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 01 January 2012 18:30
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Subject: [POHG] Drop perilous NHS reforms, say 7 ex-Faculty of Public Health Presidents
Drop perilous NHS reforms, say leading health professionals
Letter to Prime Minister warns that changes will create inequality and
'a deplorable state of affairs'
Matt Chorley <http://www.independent.co.uk/biography/matt-chorley>
Independent on Sunday, 1 January 2012
David Cameron faces fresh calls to abandon his NHS reforms, as a group
of leading public-health experts predicts that the changes will
"exacerbate inequalities" in the health of the nation.
Seven former presidents of the Faculty of Public Health accuse the Prime
Minister of ploughing ahead with an "unprecedented marketisation" of
services, which poses a "major threat" to the integrity of the NHS.
In a letter to Mr Cameron, the group warns: "The Bill is likely to
produce a 'patchwork quilt' health system that will vary hugely across
the country, failing to meet the diverse needs of the population and
undermining the health of vulnerable, minority groups."
Under the changes set out in the NHS Health and Social Care Bill, GPs
will be handed the bulk of the £60bn health budget to buy in services
for patients, with a new NHS commissioning board overseeing the process.
Primary Care Trusts are to be abolished and replaced with "GP
consortia", which will straddle council boundaries, raising concerns
that the quality of care will vary in different parts of the country.
Andrew Lansley, the Secretary of State for Health, has denied the
changes will worsen health inequalities. In an interview with The
Independent on Sunday last month, he said: "What I am introducing won't
make any postcode lottery worse. Actually, because we expose more
information, where things aren't being done as well as they should,
people are able to use that information to drive improvement."
But the seven signatories of the letter – Professor Alwyn Smith, Dr June
Crown, Professor Rod Griffiths, Professor Sian Griffiths, Professor
Walter Holland, Professor Alan Maryon-Davis and Professor James McEwen –
say the outcome of the reforms will create a "deplorable state of
affairs". They also question why the legislation is being pursued at a
time when the NHS is being forced to find an unprecedented £20bn in
efficiency savings. "We hope that the Government will reconsider, and
withdraw it," they add.
The Department of Health said in a statement yesterday: "We simply don't
agree with this group – our plans tackle health inequalities. For the
first time ever, there will be a duty on all parts of the health system
to reduce health inequalities, and the public health budget will be
ringfenced from 2013."
However, the letter comes as Labour steps up its campaign to force the
Government to drop the Bill. Andy Burnham, Labour's health spokesman,
used a New Year message to NHS staff to warn that the legislation has
almost completed its passage through Parliament. "The coming four months
are without doubt the most important in [the NHS's] 63-year history.
This is the moment of greatest threat. If we don't meet it with passion
and fight, it will be too late."
He has also written to Professor John Angel, who is considering the
Department of Health's appeal against the release of the risk register
which sets out the potential dangers of the reforms. Mr Burnham argues
that the report, requested under Freedom of Information laws, should be
made available to MPs and peers before the Bill passes into law early
this year.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/drop-perilous-nhs-reforms-say-leading-health-professionals-6283820.html
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