NHS Reforms Must Focus on Quality Outcomes Says MP

Tags: NHS | Press Release

Tuesday, 01 July 2008 00:00

Pendle MP, Gordon Prentice, has given his backing to the latest round of NHS reforms which focus on quality of treatment and transparency. But he warns of the dangers of fragmentation as the role of the private and so-called social enterprise sectors is encouraged and, with it, contracts, tendering and the involvement of the Courts in settling disputes. Speaking from Westminster, the MP said: “It is right that there should be an unremitting focus on quality, from clinical treatment and after care right through to hospital and ward cleanliness. What we don’t want is more structural changes and upheavals.” The Government proposes to allow nurses and other NHS staff to leave the organisation, set up their own business and then contract with the NHS while retaining their pension rights. After three years the contract would be put out to tender. The MP commented: “Contracts, tenders and the market are playing a much more significant role in the NHS although Ministers stress that this is happening only at the margins. However, a change in Government could see a step change in private and third sector provision of health services.” In a separate development, the MP confirmed that he had written to the Lancashire Overview and Scrutiny Committee asking to appear before the Committee when it next gets an update on the controversial changes to Accident and Emergency provision in East Lancashire. The MP said: “Only the Lancashire Overview and Scrutiny Committee can ask the Health Secretary to bring in clinicians from outside East Lancashire to give a clear, unbiased assessment of whether the changes are working in the interest of patients. Without such an assessment, the loss of Burnley’s blue light A&E will continue as a running sore. Like most people, I want this settled once and for all.” Note to editors: The Pendle MP quizzed the Health Secretary in the Commons yesterday on NHS staff: Mr. Gordon Prentice (Pendle) (Lab): My friend told us that NHS staff will be able to leave the organisation and subsequently contract with it as members of a social enterprise. How many people does he think will take advantage of that offer in the next year or two, and what are the advantages of going down that road, both for the national health service and for groups of former employees? Alan Johnson: I am not sure how many people will take up the offer. There are already three or four social enterprises across the country. When we went through the process, we found that lots of front-line clinicians, including midwives, nurses and physiotherapists, wanted to link together and set up their own organisation—and sometimes to move into adult social care as well—to avoid the bureaucracy sometimes involved in different NHS organisations working together. What stopped them was the fact that they wanted to preserve their pensions. For instance, people providing sexual health services in my patch, Hull, told me just a couple of weeks ago how much more they could do if they could set up their own organisation. Today, we are saying that PCTs that are being difficult on the issue will have to treat a request from staff seriously. If the change goes ahead, staff will retain their NHS pensions. In addition, for the first three years, the contract will not go out to tender; the people involved will be guaranteed a clear run. I believe that lots of providers across the country will be keen to take up the suggestion. The unions are very keen for us to go a step further and ensure pension portability everywhere. That is much more difficult. Ensuring that portability in social enterprises is easy; for the independent sector, it is very difficult.

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 07 October 2008 20:38 )