16th April 2015
- Political parties outline intentions for health in election manifestos
- New offence of ill-treatment or wilful neglect comes into force
- WHO call for all clinical trials data to be made publicly available
Political parties outline intentions for health in election manifestos
The main political parties have been publishing their election manifestos this week, providing a more detailed outline of their proposals for government. The announcements come as the previous NHS Chief Executive Sir David Nicholson warns all politicians are ignoring the NHS’ ‘substantial financial problem’.
The Conservative manifesto promises a “truly 7-day NHS” with GP access across the entire week, including weekends, as well as enabling patients to make appointments and access their own health records electronically. The party has also promised to increase health funding by at least £8bn by 2020 while continuing to support the integration of health and social care through the Better Care Fund. In an interview with the Health Service Journal, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said some of this money could be used to help the social care sector. Other key announcements include the elimination of mixed sex wards, further support for cancer services and the delivery of a new cancer strategy, and increased support for unpaid carers.
Labour’s central pledge is to repeal the Health and Social Care Act and to encourage integration by joining NHS, mental health, and social care budgets together to create a “single service” for health and care. Under their system, local councils’ health and wellbeing boards would become ‘a vehicle for system leadership’. The Party also promises an extra £2.5bn a year ‘to pay for 20,000 more nurses, 8,000 more GPs, 5,000 more careworkers, and 3,000 more midwives. However, the Five Year Forward View is not mentioned in Labour’s health manifesto.
Labour also promises to modernise the regulation of healthcare professionals in line with proposals recently outlined by the Law Commission. A draft Bill from the Law Commission published last year set out proposals to protect the title “surgeon” and enable credentials to be listed on the medical and dental registers. Other policies announced by the party include:
- The introduction of a ‘preferred provider’ policy to ensure the NHS ‘is not destabilised by market competition’ with a 5% profit cap on private sector contracts;
- New access standards for GPs appointments and mental health services
- Tougher action on unhealthy foods marketed at children.
- Every hospital death to be subject to a review.
Like Labour, the Liberal Democrat manifesto promises to review the law around professional regulation. Additionally, they have also pledged to examine how patient safety can be improved by reforming the regulation of cosmetic procedures. On funding the Lib Dems say they are committed to growing the NHS budget by £8bn per year by 2020, which they say will mean more money for health in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland too, while also exploring how health and social care budgets can be pooled locally in a similar way to the devolution initiative currently underway in Manchester. Additional Lib Dem pledges introduce new standards for mental health services, additional support for carers, and set ambitious new targets for cancer and dementia.
The Green Party also published their manifesto this week, promising to repeal the Health and Social Care Act, abolish competition, and end the purchaser provider split in the NHS. They would also introduce free dental services, increase NHS funding by £12bn a year, tax unhealthy foods to subsidise fruit and vegetable costs, and bring NHS pay back in line with inflation. UKIP meanwhile have promised to abolish “unnecessary EU legislation”, pledging an end to the EWTD. They also undertake to increase NHS spending by £3bn a year, eliminate hospital parking charges, improve retention of emergency medicine doctors, and implement a “licence to manage” to ensure higher standards among NHS managers. In addition, a UKIP government would abolish the CQC and Monitor, with their inspection functions taken up by county council health boards made of of health and social care professionals elected locally by their peers.
The SNP will publish their election manifesto on Monday.
The RCS has been commenting on the release of manifestos for those parties which are likely to win the most number of UK seats after the General Election.
New offence of ill-treatment or wilful neglect comes into force
A new law has come into force in England and Wales applying to care workers, such as doctors and dentists, and their conduct with individuals under the care. The legislation makes it an offence for “an individual who has the care of another individual by virtue of being a care worker to ill-treat or wilfully neglect that individual” and applies specifically to the conduct of the health worker and not the outcome of the treatment they give the patient.
The Medical Defence Union has warned that the new sanction could mean a rise in the number of police investigations where ill treatment or wilful neglect is suspected. They have published guidance on their website on the implications of the law.
Similar legislation has already been in place for staff working in some mental health services for a number of years. An impact assessment previously published by the Department of Health suggested the legislation would affect around 700 individuals a year.
WHO calls for all clinical trials data to be made publicly available
The World Health Organisation has called for all results from clinical trials to be publicly reported within 12 months of the trials end in an effort to cease the selective publication of research dependent on results. The global body says there is a “scientific, ethical, and moral responsibility” to register all outcomes of clinical research and is also calling for the results of previously unpublished trials to be made publicly available.
The full statement can be read here.