After the government put on hold their controversial NHS reform plan, ministers have now agreed to make changes to the reform bill following recommendations by an independent review. 

David Cameron said, “Ministers had listened to fears about increased competition and more powers to GPs and would now slow the pace of change.”

The Lib Dems opposed aspects of the bill and their leader, Nick Clegg, said, “Their demands had been handsomely met.”

He said, “Ministers made no apology for pausing to get things right.”

However, Labour says, “The revisions still do not go far enough to protect the NHS.”

At a joint press conference with his deputy Nick Clegg and Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, Mr Cameron said, “Those who described the revisions as a humiliating U-turn or the listening exercise as a big PR stunt were both wrong.”

“The fundamentals of our plans – more control to patients, more power to doctors and nurses, less bureaucracy in the NHS – they are as strong today as they’ve ever been.”

“But the shape of our plans, the detail of how we’re going to make all this work, that really has changed as a direct result of this consultation.”

Mr Clegg, said, “He hoped the government now had a plan we can all get behind.”

“Change will happen, but it will happen at the right pace and that is why the arbitrary deadlines have gone.”

Now the government has agreed to the recommendations made by the independent review, the bill will now go back to the committee stage in the House of Commons to be scrutinised further by MPs. 

After the 10-week “listening exercise” – a panel of experts called the NHS Future Forum gave its recommendations on the changes needed to the bill, which applies to England only. 

They include:

Reinstating the legal responsibility of the health secretary for the overall performance of the NHS.
Scrapping the primary role of the regulator, Monitor, to promote competition – and focusing on improving patient choice instead
Relaxing the 2013 deadline for the new GP commissioning arrangement to be introduced
Strengthening the power of health and well-being boards, which are being set up by councils, to oversee commissioning and giving patients a greater role on them
Retaining a lead role for GPs in decision making, but boosting the role of other professionals such as hospital doctors and nurses alongside them. 

A National Commissioning Board will be set up to control budgets until GP groups are ready to take over. 

The Department of Health, says, “The aim and expectation is that all groups will take the powers on eventually.” However, this leaves the Lib Dems free to suggest that GP groups could ultimately refuse to do so. 

Despite the recent set-backs and the recommendations from the review committee, the government and many health care professionals believe reform is necessary to ensure the NHS is fit for purpose now and in the future as it has to deal with changes in society such as an ageing population, lifestyle changes such as increases in obesity, diabetes and the costs of new drugs, all of which have an affect on the NHS. 

Since the reform bill began, Andrew Lansley has come under continued scrutiny and attack with calls for him to resign as he is not fit for purpose as the Health Minister. However, David Cameron said, “He accepted full responsibility for what had happened.”

“I am every bit as responsible as Andrew Lansley for the fact that we actually decided we could improve on what we had already put forward.”

“I do not attempt in any way to pass the blame to anybody else.”

Labour leader, Ed Milliband said, “David Cameron should never have rushed into reforms that weren’t properly thought through and didn’t command the confidence of the medical profession.”

“The problem now is that he’s still going ahead with a bureaucratic reorganisation that’s going to waste billions of pounds.”

Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of British Medical Association, said, “The government’s approach during the listening exercise had been refreshing, but this needed to be maintained in the coming months.”

Professor Steve Field, the former head of the Royal College of GPs who led the Future Forum, said, “While the principle of putting doctors in charge was well supported, he had heard genuine and deep-seated concerns from many.”

With the government finally outlining and agreeing to changes in the NHS Reform Bill following the recommendations by the independent review committee – the NHS Future Forum, there are those within the opposition party and those within the profession that still want the reforms to be reduced further or even scrapped altogether. 

With the pace of the reform being slowed down and the bill to go back to the parliament, MPs will now have further opportunities to raise their concerns and give input to how the reforms should be. 

Now the review has finally been announced, there will be those within the profession that just want to move forward and carry on with the business of health care. As GPs and those with in the medical profession digest the recommendations from the review committee, they are now in a better position to plan ahead and ensure they are able to meet the demands of their practises and wards.   

With GPs still being involved in the decision making with hospital doctors and nurses working alongside them, those concerned will be able to manage the demand for GP doctor jobs and GP Locums doctor jobs more easily as they will have greater openness to the services they need to provide and the budgets that have to hand to do so. 

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