Friday 3 February 2012
Statement on the Health and Social Care Bill
Next week, the Health and Social Care Bill will be discussed again in the House of Lords, when Peers will have the opportunity to debate the changes that have been proposed so far.
The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign continues to have concerns around the Bill, in particular the move towards Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), who will commission non-specialised services; for example some types of physiotherapy, for the 60,000 people in England with a neuromuscular condition. We continue to call for clarification on how specialist services, commissioned by the NHS Commissioning Board (NHSCB), and more generic services, commissioned by the CCGs, will link together.
However, there have been a number of positive developments as the Bill has made its way through Parliament; most notably the move towards national commissioning of specialised services through the NHSCB. We have secured a number of important commitments for people with a neuromuscular condition, including the publication of a draft service specification, which sets out the ‘gold standard’ of care for patients with such conditions and the announcement that a national lead for neuromuscular services will be appointed.
There have also been some major commitments secured towards promoting research, which we have campaigned for as part of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC). Following pressure from the AMRC, the Government have agreed to include a strong duty in the Bill on the Secretary of State, the NHSCB and CCGs to promote research, which is a very positive development and has the potential to strengthen the position of research in the NHS.
Despite these commitments, further reassurance is needed that specialised services will be given due focus in the new NHS structure. We would also welcome further detail as to how the NHSCB is going to plan and deliver services on a regional level and have continuing concerns about the ability of the CCGs to deliver adequate services to patients with rare and very rare conditions. We will therefore continue to work with parliamentarians, Ministers, the Department of Health and regional NHS staff to make sure that the Bill delivers for people with neuromuscular conditions.
Please support our campaigning by contacting your MP and asking them to write to the Secretary of State to make sure that neuromuscular services are a priority in the new NHS structure.
For more information please get in touch:
020 7803 2865
campaigns@muscular-dystrophy.org
