A 4-page briefing paper on the Health & Social Care Bill from Health Campaigns Together can be downloaded below.
Download the briefing paper here
The briefing paper covers issues such as privatisation, patient safety, quality of care, accountability and the extent of new powers that the Bill could create if it becomes an act without changes to what is currently proposed.
The Bill, as introduced, would enact policies set out to deliver legislative reform following the NHS Long Term Plan (January 2019), and the White Paper, Integration and Innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all (February 2021).
The Government says the Bill builds on the NHS’s own proposals for reform, aiming to make it less bureaucratic, more accountable, and more integrated, and that it has incorporated lessons learnt from the pandemic.
Opposition parties, and indeed some members of the Conservatives, in each House of Parliament, are expected to propose amendments, so the final detail of the potential new law is not yet known, however, anyone concerned with the NHS should keep aware of what is being proposed.
As the largest nation in the United Kingdom, how the NHS is governed and operated in England has major consequences for the entire pharmacy profession.
You can follow the progress of the Bill through the various stages here, and the explanatory notes are available on the Parliament website here.
Related links
- Health and Care Bill 2021-22
- Health Campaigns Together website
- PDA Affiliations
- PDA writes to new Secretary of State