Health and Social Care Bill

Thursday, 8 September 2011

 

Following yesterday’s third reading in the House of Commons, the Health and Social Care Bill will now be considered by the House of Lords.

 

Clearly for those of us working in England, we are watching this progress closely. On Tuesday, the College co-signed a letter to The Times with the BMA, Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal College of Midwives, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and the British Association of Occupational Therapists.

 

This letter (content on The Times website is subscriber-only but you can read extracts from the letter on the GP Online website) stated that, while we were pleased to see some positive amendments made by the Government to the legislation, together with our fellow professional organisations we share a number of detailed concerns.

 

In the meantime, I personally remain concerned that the current continuing uncertainty is leading to significant instability within the NHS right now. History tells us that in times of instability, mental health is particularly vulnerable. I would welcome your thoughts and views, which you can send me using the comments form below.

 

Sue

 

 

Subscribe to this post's comments using RSS

Comments

Re: Health and Social Care Bil
Totally agree. We have certainly noticed at the 'coalface' the disruption caused by actions, taken in anticipation of the reforms. For a Government, which stated at the outset to abandon 'top-down' reform, the Bill certainly shows a worrying level of cognitive dissonance, and that is outwith the actual content of the Bill.
Re: Health and Social Care Bil
Sacrificing quality to offer 'value for money' has already happened with Local Authority care provision. There is a real danger that the NHS could follow suit. No amount of New Ways of working will reduce the need for high quality, clinically effective mental health services.
Add a Comment

 

About this blog

RCPsych President, Professor Sue Bailey

 

Professor Sue Bailey started her term of office as President in June 2011. She is a consultant child and adolescent forensic psychiatrist in Greater Manchester.

 

In this blog, Sue will update members on how she is representing psychiatry, both nationally and internationally.

Archive

September 2011 (6)
© 2011 Royal College of Psychiatrists