Queen's Speech - Health Bill
Tuesday 25 May 2010
“The voice of patients and the role of doctors will be strengthened in the National Health Service.” The purpose of the Bill is to: Implement the Government’s proposals for a sustainable national framework for the NHS; to support a patient led NHS focused on outcomes; and to deliver on the commitment to reduce bureaucracy. The [...]
“The voice of patients and the role of doctors will be strengthened in the National Health Service.”
The purpose of the Bill is to:
- Implement the Government’s proposals for a sustainable national framework for the NHS; to support a patient led NHS focused on outcomes; and to deliver on the commitment to reduce bureaucracy.
The main benefits of the Bill would be:
- To create an NHS led by clinical decision-makers that is more responsive to patients and fosters continuous quality improvements.
- To help shape a healthcare system which drives up standards of care, eliminates waste and achieves outcomes that are amongst the best in the world.
- To focus more on patients, ensuring they genuinely share in making decisions about their care and have more choice and control.
The main elements of the Bill are:
- To establish an independent NHS Board to allocate resources and provide commissioning guidance, and to allow GPs to commission services on behalf of their patients.
- To improve efficiency and outcomes by strengthening the role of the Care Quality Commission and developing Monitor into an economic regulator to oversee aspects of access and competition in the NHS.
- To take forward proposals to significantly cut the number of health quangos, helping cut the cost of NHS administration by a third.
Related documents:
None
Existing legislation in this area is:
- Wide range of legislation would be affected, including the National Health Service Act 2006.
- Further details will follow in due course.
Devolution:
The majority of issues addressed in this Bill are devolved matters and generally apply to England only.