11.09.14
Health coalition calls for end to top-down NHS reorganisation
Politicians have been urged not to perform another top-down reorganisation of the NHS by a 21-strong coalition of the country’s leading health bodies, charities and royal colleges.
In a document published today – 2015 Challenge Manifesto – the organisations have called for action in order to deliver an achievable vision for a sustainable health and care service in the UK.
Incorporated in this, the coalition has called for 15 solid ‘asks’ to be delivered, which includes a priority to keep people well; health and social care working together as one joined up system with care closer to home; and the right services being available seven days a week to support urgent and emergency care.
Dame Gill Morgan, independent chair of the coalition of leading organisations said: “This document encapsulates the views of organisations representing patients, doctors, nurses, therapists, leading charities, local government and NHS managers. The evidence for change that is required is unarguable. The ‘asks’ of the political parties are agreed and sensible. We now need the political parties to listen to what the experts are saying about the future, if they are to set manifestos that safeguard the future of the NHS.”
The 21 organisations signed up to the 2015 Challenge are:
- NHS Confederation
- Academy of Medical Royal Colleges
- Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management
- Foundation Trust Network
- Local Government Association
- National Voices
- Royal College of GPs
- Royal College of Physicians
- College of Emergency Medicine
- Chartered Society for Physiotherapists
- Healthcare Financial Management Association
- Scope
- Asthma UK
- British Heart Foundation
- Association of Directors of Public Health
- Age UK
- Royal Society for Public Health
- Institute for Healthcare Management
- Macmillan
- Royal College of Nursing (RCN)
- Association of Directors of Adult Social Care
Tom Sandford, director of RCN England, said: “This manifesto, from a diverse and influential coalition of professional bodies and charities including the RCN is a further call on political parties to make clear their plans for the future of the health service.”
Rob Webster, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, stated that back in May, the 2015 Challenge Declaration set out the seven major challenges facing health and care.
“Overcoming these is going to take political courage and a real debate on how to provide the funding and support radical changes in care,” he said. “Instead we have had a summer of silence, punctuated by announcements on parking, contracting and hospital food. These are important issues but none of them tackle the fundamental challenges.”
Webster added that the Manifesto has set out a clear vision of a future health service which is better for patients and is sustainable.
The Manifesto’s full list of 15 ‘asks’ are:
- a government-wide approach to keeping people well
- no top-down reorganisations.
- new models of care that are supported politically at a national and local level
- politicians playing a leadership role in ensuring debates about change focus constructively on the implications for people’s health and wellbeing
- flexibility for providers on new organisational models with a clarified policy on provider futures and the FT pipeline
- a national sector led programme to support self care at scale
- workforce reforms that value staff and secure the workforce of the future
- government must build consensus around the expectations on the health and care workforce to provide seven-day services and providing support to meet these expectations
- genuine parity of esteem for mental health
- local leaders driving change within a national framework, including simplified performance regimes
- enabling locally led deployment of new technologies, coordinated information systems and cutting edge research at pace and scale
- longer term settlements for health and care that support service change, with adequate funding to meet demand across health and care
- payment system reform - to incentivise new models of care
- a non-recurrent £2bn fund to support change for at least two years over and above this
- political accountability for decisions on funding – recognising that health and care cannot absorb current pressures and deliver everything we currently do without more funding.
NHE has contacted the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats for their reaction to these ‘asks’, and will update this story with their replies.
Tell us what you think – have your say below or email [email protected]