Commenting on today’s meeting with the prime minister on the implementation of the health reforms, Sir Richard Thompson, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said:
As the professional body that exists to raise the quality of care for seriously ill patients in hospitals, the RCP and its fellows and members must be embedded in national and local structures to provide advice on setting standards, education and training and other areas, such as clinical audits and guidelines. We felt we could best represent the views of our members by attending the meeting and briefing the prime minister on the RCP’s concerns.
I raised with the prime minister our concerns that competition could damage, and is already damaging, integrated care pathways, and that the government should commit to a high quality threshold for any qualified provider (AQP) for clinical services. In addition, I raised our view that the raising of the private income cap must not displace NHS provision. For example, NHS beds must not be closed to open private beds, and so any private provision in NHS hospitals must be additive.
I also discussed the considerable amount of anxiety among the medical profession regarding their ability to provide high quality medical care to patients due to the effects of the New Deal and the European Working Time Directive (EWTD), and the increasing number of acute admissions and the ability of current services to respond to an ageing population.
The RCP has from the outset been neither for nor against the Bill. This should not be taken to mean that the RCP is sitting on the fence or is undecided. From the start we have lobbied vigorously, with some success, on the issues where we feel change was necessary, and shall continue to work with all politicians and stakeholders to ensure the legislation is the best it can possibly be to improve health care for patients.
- On Monday 27 February the RCP is holding an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) for fellows of the RCP to debate the Health and Social Care Bill and vote on a motion to decide if the RCP should survey its membership on the reforms. Visit the EGM web pages
- The RCP has established the Commission on the Future Hospital, chaired by Sir Michael Rawlings, to help to address amongst other things, issues arising from the Health and Social Care Bill and the forthcoming Francis Inquiry report. Read more about the Future Hospital Commission