Dear Eve, Thank you for copying me in to your email to Amber Rudd about the National Health Service (Amended Duties and Powers) Bill. You asked for my position on this issue, so here it is! I have spent the past 15 years working in mental health care, so this is a subject that I know something about, and am passionate about. The NHS is, rightly, a hugely valued public service that we need to support and protect as much as possible. That’s why Liberal Democrat ministers are pushing for an extra £1.5bn of investment in the NHS this winter, and have committed to increase the NHS budget by £1bn in real terms in the years 2016/17 and 2017/18. I do not want to see the NHS privatised and I will always resist any attempts by other parties to do so. I accept, like previous Governments have, that there may be a role for competition and private sector involvement in the delivery of NHS services, but I strongly believe that the NHS should always remain free and be based on patients’ needs and not on their ability to pay. However, I don’t think the National Health Service (Amended Duties and Powers) Bill is the right way forward, and I think it is always important to consider all the facts. Contrary to what the Bill suggests, the Health and Social Care Act made it very clear that the Secretary of State for Health remains responsible for the NHS, both politically and legally. This was a very important concession secured by Liberal Democrats in Parliament and represented a significant victory against the original Conservative proposals. I am concerned that the Bill, however well intentioned, would restrict the greater autonomy that has been given to the NHS. It could also inhibit staff from making the innovative changes needed to secure sustainable, high quality care for patients. The National Health Service (Amended Duties and Powers) Bill would not remove competition from the NHS, but instead would remove parts of the Health and Social Care Act that would see Monitor, the health regulator, stripped of its role in considering how competition law applies in the NHS. Instead, this role would be handed over to the courts, which I do not think would be in the best interests of the patients. The Health and Social Care Act did not introduce competition into the NHS. This was done by Labour when they were in power through the Competition Act 1998, the Enterprise Act 2002 and the Public Sector Procurement Regulations 2006. Labour also introduced greater private sector involvement in the NHS, including bringing in a number of controversial Private Finance Initiative (PFI) deals and privatising Hinchingbrooke Hospital. Instead the Health and Social Care Act manages how this competition takes place and I’m proud that Liberal Democrats successfully fought for new rules to ensure that Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) would not be expected to competitively tender services unless they felt it was in the interests of their patients. I was also pleased that my party has backed new proposals at our recent party conference in Glasgow to end the role of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in health and make the rules clear that the needs of patients will always come ahead of competition. On the matter of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Treaty (TTIP), and how it would affect the NHS, I want to make it absolutely clear that it will not change the way the NHS is run. There is no requirement in TTIP for the Government to open NHS healthcare services to further competition and private sector provision, and access to NHS services will continue to be based on need, not ability to pay. I hope this has reassured you that protecting and supporting the NHS is one of my top priorities. Kind regards, Nick Nick Perry Lib Dem candidate for MP, Hastings & Rye tel. 07714 330642 blog - nickperrylibdem.wordpress twitter - @nickperrylibdem Published, printed and promoted by Nick Perry on behalf of the Hastings & Rye Lib Dems, all at 9 London Road, St Leonards TN37 6AE; if you do not wish to receive further emails from local Lib Dems please let me know by return. Nick Perry Tel. +44 7714 330642 Www.nickperrylibdem.wordpress
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 06:13:52 +0000
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