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24/11/2011
Reforms Will Mean 'More Commercial NHS'
A major UK Doctors union has called for the Government to rethink proposals that would make commissioning more "commercially focused".
The British Medical Association said the move, proposed this week, would undermine clinician involvement in commissioning.
The draft Department of Health guidance, Developing Commissioning Support: Towards Service Excellence makes recommendations about how clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) should operate, including how technical and ‘back office’ functions would be provided.
The BMA said the proposals would position commissioning support in a "full-scale market" and introduce commercially focused criteria to determine who is eligible to provide the support.
According to a statement released by the union on Thursday, CCGs would have little choice but to use large commercial organisations to provide commissioning support services.
BMA GPs Committee Chair Laurence Buckman said: "This latest guidance gives the commercial sector an inbuilt advantage and appears to be yet another worrying step towards an NHS focused on commercial priorities. CCGs need proper professional support, but they must have the flexibility to decide who is best able to provide these services.’
The union said that from 2016 they will be encouraged to form social enterprises and partner the private sector.
Dr Buckman said the BMA was seeking an urgent meeting with the government to urge it to reconsider the proposals.
(DW)
The British Medical Association said the move, proposed this week, would undermine clinician involvement in commissioning.
The draft Department of Health guidance, Developing Commissioning Support: Towards Service Excellence makes recommendations about how clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) should operate, including how technical and ‘back office’ functions would be provided.
The BMA said the proposals would position commissioning support in a "full-scale market" and introduce commercially focused criteria to determine who is eligible to provide the support.
According to a statement released by the union on Thursday, CCGs would have little choice but to use large commercial organisations to provide commissioning support services.
BMA GPs Committee Chair Laurence Buckman said: "This latest guidance gives the commercial sector an inbuilt advantage and appears to be yet another worrying step towards an NHS focused on commercial priorities. CCGs need proper professional support, but they must have the flexibility to decide who is best able to provide these services.’
The union said that from 2016 they will be encouraged to form social enterprises and partner the private sector.
Dr Buckman said the BMA was seeking an urgent meeting with the government to urge it to reconsider the proposals.
(DW)
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