Britannia Radio

NHS reforms end govt. accountability

Tue Aug 30, 2011

British Health Secretary Andrew Lansley will fully “wash his hand” of the government's duty to provide health services to the public if his Health and Social Care bill passes through the parliament.

Based on a legal advice commissioned by 38 Degrees campaigners there are major fears that Lansley's health reforms will shift accountability for the NHS from the government to unspecified number of private service providers, effectively ending all forms of control over healthcare provision.

The independent legal group that provided the advice piece said the a “hand-off” clause in the legislation removes any responsibility of the Health Secretary for NHS provision as commissioning groups take over the duty.

"The so-called 'hands off' clause … removes political accountability, which is the only real control voters have on the way the NHS is delivered. We won't be able to fire people on regulatory bodies or private healthcare companies when things go wrong,” said executive director of 38 Degrees David Babbs.

"None of us voted for these fundamental changes to the NHS. They weren't in any party's manifestos, or the coalition agreement, so 38 Degrees members have clubbed together to get legal advice to convince MPs that the changes shouldn't be pushed ahead and that the public's concerns need to be taken seriously,” Babbs added.

The issue was also raised by president of the Royal College of GPs Dr Clare Gerada.

"Having seen these legal opinions, they raise serious concerns for GPs. As family doctors, we want to ensure any changes to the NHS safeguard its future and benefit patients. The advice of these legal experts brings this into question. That is worrying and the government needs to respond," Gerada said.

The legal piece warns that the reforms bring competition at the center of healthcare provision as the NHS will now have to operate within the regulations that rule businesses.

That would benefit private health companies and legal teams who are experienced in complex bidding processes.

"The complexity of the regime and the administrative burden in complying with the rules (which are constantly evolving through a rapidly expanding body of case law) cannot be underestimated,” said Rebecca Haynes of legal advisers Monkton Chambers.

“The relative ease with which bidders can bring claims in the high court at any stage of the procurement has led to an increased appetite for litigation and administrative challenge,” she added.