Under the Government’s controversial health service reforms, Ed Miliband warns that GPs will be given new powers to charge patients.

Mr Miliband said, “That the Health and Social Care Bill would impose European Union and UK competition law on the NHS – potentially exposing hospitals to ‘huge fines’ of up to 10% of their income.”

Speaking at a press conference at the Labour Party’s headquarters in London, Ed Miliband said, “That detailed scrutiny of the legislation was throwing up fresh concerns about implications for patients.”

“This bill is a Pandora’s Box. The more people look at the detail, the more profound and worrying the implications appear to be for the NHS.”

Mr Miliband pointed out to provisions in the legislation that would see GPs given new powers to charge for services, while at the same time, taking away the role of the Health Secretary in deciding what services the NHS should provide and transferring it to GPs.

Mr Miliband went on further to say, “I take David Cameron at his word when he says he has no intention of undermining the principle of providing healthcare free at the point of need. But I have never heard the Government explain what the effect of this transfer of power over charging GPs will be, nor seek to defend it.”

“Ministers had conceded during the committee stage of the bill that the NHS would increasingly be liable to both EU and UK competition law as a result of the Government’s market reforms.”

“The result would be that hospitals could be fined up to 10% of their income if they were found to have breached the legislation, which would deter hospitals from working with each other. Hospitals would also be subject to insolvency laws, which would mean that they could go bust in the same was as commercial businesses.”

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley denied the bill would allow GPs to charge or extend competition law to the NHS. He said, “That insolvency arrangements put in place by the former Labour government would stop hospitals going bust.”

“Ed Miliband is deliberately misleading the public. It is wholly inappropriate for him to use the NHS as a political football like this. Labour has no vision for our NHS except to cut the budget. Their constant scaremongering on the NHS has to stop.”

With the opposition party at loggerheads with the government over the NHS Reform Bill, the main concerns for opponents of the reforms is how will the future of the NHS be run. The latest criticism by Ed Miliband has highlighted the fact that NHS Hospitals could face millions in fines over competition laws. 

At a time when the NHS is facing cutbacks, the possible future fines is money that could be used to improve the NHS such as increasing the number of doctor jobs, more training and better patient care instead of financial penalties being imposed on them. 

As NHS the continues to implement budget cuts while the reform bill is being reviewed further, hospitals across the UK continue to look at effective ways to maintain patient care while juggling budgets. At MPP Locums, we continue to work with our partners to provide first class medical personnel across the UK. 

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In the latest twist in the government’s controversial NHS Reform Bill, Nick Clegg hinted that Primary Care Trusts could be retained in some form in the government’s review of the bill.

Under the current reforms proposed by Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley - PCTs will be scrapped and budgets previously managed by trusts will be given over to GP Consortia. 

Nick Clegg was asked about the future of PCTs as the health bill is put on hold for 2 months for consultation. When asked directly if the future of PCTS was up for debate he said, “There is no point having a pause unless you are prepared to make substantive changes at the end of it where those substantive changes are necessary.”

“The current system needed to be changed,” but added, “I think it is a good thing that we are listening.” 

“Let’s all agree that GPs should be made more financially responsible. Then the question is how you do it, how the consortia is composed, at what period of time. All of that stuff we are prepared to listen to, reflect on and change if necessary.”

Nick Clegg’s comments on the reform bill came as one of his senior aides threatened to quit over the government’s reforms. 

Norman Lamb, a Liberal Democrat assistant whip and the party’s former health spokesman, said, “The proposed pace of change was very risky. There is no evidence that the flagship proposal – transferring power to buy £60 billion of treatment from managers to GPs would work” and called for a gradual change instead.

When asked if the reforms were a resignation issue, he replied, “I’ve said if it’s impossible for me to carry on in my position I will step down. I don’t want to cause embarrassment, but I feel very strongly about this issue.”

“And I think it’s in the Government’s interest to get it right in the way that I suggest.”

When it was suggested to him that his resignation would be destabilising for the Government, he added, “It would be incredibly destabilising politically if we get this reform wrong.”

With mounting criticism over the reform bill, The Health Secretary agreed to “a pause” in the passage of the Bill through Parliament and to take part in a “listening exercise” with clinical staff and patients. 

Norman Lamb went on further to say, “As things stand I have very real concerns and I think it is right for me to express those. It would be a crying shame if that really important principle was lost because we rushed the reform process and get it wrong.”

“My real concern is the financial risk of doing it too quickly because then service and patient care suffers and the political risk is enormous and most of all, for everyone who care about the NHS, and I think the Government does, we’ve got to get this right.”

He suggested that GPs could opt in to the new regime rather than being forced to join in, in the same way that schools can choose to become academies. 

Norman Lamb said, “If it works as we hope it would, then others would follow suit, but to do it on one fell swoop would be very risky.”

With the government putting the NHS Reform Bill on hold for the next two months, the future of PCTs has still to be decided as ministers consult further with clinicians and patients. Despite the criticisms of the proposal, the government is determined to ensure that any reforms made to the NHS will improve patient care and protect frontline services. 

At MPP Locums, we work in partnership with NHS Trusts and private health care providers to provide locum doctor jobs and doctor jobs at all levels, across the UK. 

MPP Locums is the fastest growing specialist recruitment agencies in the UK and is an approved supplier of locum doctor jobs, doctor jobs to the NHS under the National Locum contract starting 1st July for the next three and we are regulated by the care Quality Commission and The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA).

Contact our registration team today if you want to be part of our growing medical specialist team.

With the government pushing ahead to radically reform the NHS, managers warn that the health service could worsen instead of improve. By introducing competition based on price rather than quality, could see NHS services becoming a postcode lottery. 

The NHS Confederation, which is highly critical of the government’s proposal to reform the NHS, said, “There are significant risks in the government’s plans, as well as an absence of detail regarding how they will be implemented.”

“The drive to improve local decisions will mean more variability of access to services, while competition based on price is likely despite ministers’ assurances.”

This latest criticism comes at a time when a new survey of GPs found that 75% of GPs surveyed want limits placed on the involvement of the private sector in healthcare and more than half have no confidence in the Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley.

Nigel Edwards, acting Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, said, “The government has got to ask itself some hard questions about how it manages the reforms from here on in.”

“The debate on the reforms has become very polarised and entrenched, with little movement on the practical ways of managing what are very significant risks. This is destabilising for an NHS that is already making structural changes to meet the government’s agenda.”

“We have often found a reality gap between ideas that are good in principle and the details of practical delivery, which have often looked opaque or too optimistic.”

The Health and Social Care Bill that is currently going through Parliament will see the control of £80 billion of the NHS budget being passed to GP-led bodies who will then decide on how that money is spent on patient care – including opening up competition from private health care providers. 

On top of the government’s reform, which will see £80 billion of the NHS’s budget being passed over to GP Consortia, the NHS is under pressure to save £20 billion over the next three years through efficiency saving measures. The net result of this is likely to see jobs go across the NHS including midwives, nurses, doctors, GPs and GP Locums. 

So far the government’s reform bill has come under strong criticism from doctors, nurses, coalition Liberal Democrat MPS as well as opposition Labour MPs, fuelling rumours that ministers will be forced to make u-turns on parts of the most contentious proposals. 

In a paper published by the NHS Confederation, they are highly critical of the government’s failure to explain the reforms in sufficient detail. On the introduction of a free market, the Confederation says, “The right sort of competition can lead to improvements in care, but ministers need to make the arguments more confidently and have failed to set out whether or not GPs and hospitals can collaborate.”

“It says the government has insisted that private providers will not be allowed to undercut state-run hospitals but points out that only about two-thirds of services are covered by set tariffs, so price competition remains possible, indeed likely in mental health, specialist hospital care and community services.”

The Confederation went on further to say, “It is highly questionable whether or not every service should be up for grabs, particularly in the provision of complex treatments for long-term health conditions that require co-ordination, and that the government’s plans are insufficiently sophisticated.”

“There are also legitimate concerns that GPs could have conflicts of interest if they are both commissioning and providing treatment, and may personally benefit from rationing care.”

“Plans for greater accountability, meanwhile are vague and need much-needed clarity.”

“At the same time, there are significant risks during the transition to the new regime including a possible loss of grip on money and quality, and essential communications have been lacking.”

Dr Hamish Meldrum, Chairman of Council of the British Medical Association, said, “if the Bill is to be enacted it is essential that there are very significant changes to remedy its many problems, in order to avoid or, at the very least, limit the potential damage to the NHS.”

The Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, said, “The NHS Confederation is one of a number of organisations across the NHS that are now focussing on specific amendments, having supported the principles of out modernisations plans.”

“We have common objectives and welcome input from the NHS Confederation. It helps to bring more clarity to the detail of our comprehensive modernisation plans.”

With the government’s NHS reform bill being far from being enacted, this latest round of criticism highlights the medical professions concerns over the future of the NHS. Critics argue that the bill is ill planned and will see patient care suffering as a result of the reforms, as well as possible future NHS jobs losses. 

At MPP Locums, we work in partnership with NHS Trusts and private health care providers to provide locum doctor jobs and doctor jobs at all levels, across the UK. 

Contact our registration team today if you want to be part of our growing medical specialist team.