Medical Unions Declare War On New Health Bill

The UK's main medical unions have declared war on the Government's health bill - branding it "a serious threat to the NHS".

Both the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) have joined the British Medical Association (BMA) in calling for the planned reforms to be scrapped.

The RCN, which is the biggest nursing union, said "serious concerns" over the Health and Social Care Bill had not been addressed by consultations leading up to the current parliamentary process.

The plans would see power over commissioning handed to groups of GPs and the role of other providers - including the private sector - increased.

Ministers believe the bill will improve choice and accountability and "liberate" the service.

But opponents fear it will lead to privatisation by the back door.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley accused the RCN of failing to trust its own members to improve the NHS.

"We know demands are rising, we have an aging population, we have technological change, we know we've got to modernise and change," he told Sky News.

"Now who better than frontline staff?

"Since the Bill is about the transfer of responsibility to frontline staff including their [RCN] members... will they not trust their own members across the country, through this Bill, to deliver better care for patients?"

The RCN says changes such as lifting the cap on the number of private patients being treated in NHS hospitals to almost half (49%) "make the bill in its entirety a serious threat to the NHS".

Peter Carter, chief executive of the RCN, said the bill would not deliver on the principles originally outlined.

"Opposing this bill is not a decision we have taken lightly," he said.

"We have worked hard on behalf of all our members to influence the decisions that have been taken as the bill has gone through Parliament.

"However, it is now clear that these 'reforms' are forging ahead on the ground - without the concerns of nurses and other clinicians being heeded.

"We have sought a range of assurances, but now feel that the reforms as they stand could have the opposite effect from that which was intended."

Dr Carter said the reforms were being brought in at a time when the NHS has been told it must save £20bn by 2014.

"The sheer scale of member concerns, which have been building over recent weeks, has led us to conclude that the consequences of the bill may be entirely different from the principles which were originally set out," he said.

"The RCN feels that these concerns are so fundamental that we must now oppose the Health and Social Care Bill."

RCN research has shown that 48,000 NHS jobs in England have been lost or face the axe and Dr Carter said patient care was "undoubtedly being put in jeopardy".

"While we are not opposed to the principle of competition in the NHS, recent developments have shown that the balance between competition and quality has become skewed," he said.

The RCM added that the Bill was "divisive and costly".

Chief executive Cathy Warwick said: "This bill is a massively expensive distraction from the challenges that the NHS faces in trying to improve healthcare at a time of severe spending restraint."

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham, who has pledged to repeal the Bill if his party returns to power, fears the proposals will lead to the break-up of the NHS.

"It's hard to see how David Cameron can carry on with his health bill after the decisions taken by the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives," he said.

"Doctors, nurses and midwives are now standing together in outright opposition to his plans to turn the NHS into a market-based system."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: "We're disappointed that these Royal Colleges have come to this position.

"During the course of the past 12 months we have been working with nursing groups to shape our plans for a modern NHS."