NHS Reform and Decentralisation Bill expected in Parliament
soon
A bill to make major changes to the structure of the
National Health Service, the NHS Reform and Decentralisation Bill, is
expected to be published within the next few days.
The Queen's Speech in June 2001 announced that there
would be a Bill to decentralise power and direct resources to NHS staff,
to give patients greater influence over the running of the NHS and to
strengthen regulation of the health professions. The Bill is expected
to have significant implications for professional organisations, such
as the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
The Bill will:
- Enable 75 per cent of NHS spending power to be
placed in the hands of front-line doctors, nurses and other health professionals,
acting through primary care trusts, rather than through health authorities
as at present
- Devolve to primary care trusts responsibility
for commissioning services from family health service contractors —
GPs, pharmacists, dentists and opticians
- Give patients greater influence in the running
of the NHS by replacing community health councils with elected bodies
with the right to refer contested local service changes to a new National
Reconfiguration Panel
- Reform professional self-regulation and modernise
the way appeals from decision of regulatory bodies are handled and the
way they are accountable to Parliament
These changes will accompany a reduction in the
number of health authorities from 95 to 30 strategic health authorities,
which is now expected to be completed by April 2002.
Once published, the Bill's second reading in Parliament
may follow within a week and it might be reach its committee stage by
Christmas.
Interested groups, such as the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society, are expected to arrange meetings with, and briefings for, Ministers,
Opposition spokesmen, officials and parliamentary committee members in
order to try to influence the final content of the resulting Act.
Back to Top
|
