Saima Khan, Policy Officer

Peers from the House of Lords will be meeting again on 8^th February as the Bill progresses into the report stage. This is where changes to the Bill will be tabled and a detailed line by line examination of the Bill will take place. This could potentially last up until early March, which will then see the Bill move through to its third reading ( the final opportunity for the Lords to Debate and amend the Bill). We are now moving to our next phase of lobbying to ensure our views and concerns are heard in Parliament.

Read more about the Health and Social Care Bill

To mark Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week, the Government have published figures which show Carbon Monoxide Poisoning sends approximately 4,000 people to Accident and Emergency each year. Find out more about the symptoms and effects

Saima Khan, Policy Officer

The House of Lords have now decided on two crucial amendments which would have resulted in the Health and Social Care Bill being delayed further or more so blocked entirely.

Peers voted 330 to 262 against an amendment which would have resulted in parts of the bill scrutinised in more detail at a special select committee. They also rejected Lord Rea's amendment to block the bill altogether. This was rejected by 354 votes to 220.

The Bill will now move to the committee stage and will be discussed in further detail on 25 October 2011.

Saima Khan, Policy Officer

The Health and Social Care Bill will come under scrutiny from Peers in the House of Lords today. It is believed that if an agreement is not reached soon regarding the drastic changes to the NHS, there will be a continued delay in the Bill becoming law.Second reading debates usually last for a few hours but sometimes stretch over a couple of days. Once a decision is reached, the Bill will be passed on to the committee stage where peers will go through and examine the Bill line by line.

Saima Khan, LINk Policy Officer

If any of you are like me, you would have read or even watched on TV the many things written or said about the Health and Social Care Bill. This is because after the long summer break, MPs were back in the House of Commons discussing further changes they wanted.

The Health and Social Care Bill has had its third reading in the House of Commons on the 6^th and 7^th September 2011. The Bill received its third reading by 316 votes to 251.

The Bill will now progress through to the House of Lords, where Members of the Lords are given the chance to discuss the main principles and objectives of the Bill. This is also another opportunity to highlight any concerns and areas where they think changes are required.

The second reading is scheduled to take place on October 4^th 2011. It looks like this autumn is going to be busy!

Leicestershire LINk will be taking serious issue with a recent review, which appears to ignore the voice and views of the local population in deciding the possible future of Glenfield’s Paediatric Cardiac Care Service.

Despite overwhelming response from the East Midlands & West Midlands which supports the retention of the services at Glenfield hospital, the report appears to indicate that throughout the Country, Option B which removes the service from Glenfield is the favoured option.

The people of Leicestershire, Rutland and Leicester showed tremendous support for the retention of a locally based provision, on the information provided at the time. It now appears that by adjusting the criteria and figures a far less favourable outcome may emerge.

Eric Charlesworth, Joint LINk Paediatric Cardiac Task Group Chair said: “We are hugely disappointed at the latest report. Whilst it is recognised it has been one of the largest public consultations undertaken by the NHS, the conclusions seem to ignore the views of the patient population which overwhelmingly endorsed the retention of Glenfield Hospital. It is unacceptable that by manipulating the response data received, a very different outcome may emerge. We would urge as many people as possible to express their views in order that we can challenge the interpretations being taken by the Bureaucrats at the Department of Health which go totally against the Governments statements that the view of the public will be at the centre of all decisions”.

The public are encouraged once again to express their views by contacting their MP‘s and letting the LINk know their views. Although final decisions have yet to be made, it seems clear that this report will have significant impact on those decisions.

To share your views, please contact Kamini Patel on 0116 229 3019 or email Kamini@communitiesinpartnership.org.uk

Geoff Smith, HealthWatch Lead, LINk Board

The Government ‘Listening Exercise’ has ended, the Government response has been published and Government amendments tabled for the Health and social Care Bill which has been re-committed to the Bill Committee, with a tight deadline of 14^th July for completion. Report stage will follow before the recess and the Bill will then be considered by the Lords in September.

For LINks the outcome is disappointing. The many matters raised by LINks and NALM have not been understood or acted on. The only amendment to the relevant clauses is to make LHW subject to the Equalities Act 2010. NALM, LINks and individuals are pressing the Bill Committee and MPs, and will press the Lords, to secure the changes in the Bill that are essential if LHW is not to be ‘set up to fail’. The principal issues are:

1. Local HealthWatch will not be seen by patients and the public and particularly by users of social care services as independent. A body that is commissioned, funded and performance managed by a Local Authority is perceived to be subject to influence, direct or indirect, of the officers and Members of the Council and so unable to make unbiased reports and interventions.
2. The experience of Local Involvement Networks in securing adequate funding for their work from the grants made to local authorities by the Department of Health does not inspire confidence that there will be adequate funding for the greatly extended functions given to Local HealthWatch. Without such funding there will be no consistent Local HealthWatch service, the public will be confused and the reputation of HealthWatch will be irreparably damaged.
3. HealthWatch England is to be established at the same time as Local HealthWatch. A great deal of work is in progress throughout the country by Local Involvement Networks, Councils and Primary Care Trusts to plan and prepare for Local HealthWatch. HealthWatch England will have an important relationship with Local HealthWatch and it should be established in shadow form in October 2011 so that these relationships can be established before plans for the establishment of Local HealthWatch are finalised.
4. The Department of Health has indicated that although there will be national branding for HealthWatch there will be no national publicity campaign to encourage people to understand that it offers, how it can help them, and how to contact Local HealthWatch. The private sector should be invited to work with HealthWatch to provide a sponsored national campaign.
5. It is not in the public interest, or the interest of the Coalition Government, for HealthWatch to be set up in a way that will mean that, despite the work of volunteers and staff, it will fail.

John Baker, Leicestershire LINk Chair

Leicestershire LINk is pleased to hear the Government has finally listened to our views with regards to the unrealistic timetable set for NHS Reform. The LINk has said from the very beginning that in order for there to be a smooth transition into Local HealthWatch, a realistic timetable would need to be in place. However, we would like to see HealthWatch England set up well in advance of Local HealthWatch in order to provide basic guidance, so that the delay we had in establishing LINks could be avoided.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister, David Cameron made a speech which highlighted “real changes” towards the NHS reforms. The speech is in preparation for the report from the NHS forum, which is due to published next week. The NHS forum, an independent group of the country’s leading NHS professionals and patient representatives, have been analysing the results from the Government Listening exercise, in which local people had another opportunity to tell the Government what they thought of the proposals.

The key points from the Prime Minister’s speech:

• “Five guarantees” on the future of the NHS which Cameron expects to be held personally accountable on.
• No cuts in NHS spending.
• Competition is still on the agenda for the Government, however: “Monitor’s (Independent regulator) main duty is to protect and promote the interests of people who use health care services and will use competition as a means to that end”.
• Groups of doctors and nurses will be involved in new consortia planning and buying care, not just GP. These groups will take charge of commissioning in their own area, only when they are ready, not by 2013 as stated previously.
• The 18 week limit on waiting lists and the four hour waiting time target in Accident and Emergency will remain. There will still be a focus on the outcome of treatment.

Read the Prime Minister’s speech for more information.

Saima Khan, LINk Policy Officer
Some of you may be aware RT Hon Stephen Dorrell is not only a Charnwood MP, but is currently the Chairman of the House of Common’s Health Select Committee.

The LINk/Local HealthWatch Transformation Task Group has been keeping busy lobbying our local MPs on a number of changes we would like to the Health and Social Care Bill.

Task Group members; John Baker, LINk Chair, Geoff Smith, LINk Board Member and HealthWatch Advisor, Gill Wollerton, LINk Project Manager and I went along to meet with Rt Hon Stephen Dorrell. He was very sympathetic to our concerns regarding the Health and Social Care Bill and agreed to support and help in the following three areas:

1. Support for our pursuit for Pathfinder status

By becoming a Pathfinder, we will be able to test out some of the additional functions which LINks will gain in 2012. Currently, together with Leicestershire County Council we are putting our bid in to the Department of Health.

2. Raise the issue of GP Consortia and Public accountability at the Health Select Committee

We would like the GP Consortia to meet in public and have been very fortunate to following the meeting to have a seat on one of the GP Consortia Boards.

3. Speak to Jo Williams, Chair of Care Quality Commission enquiring why HealthWatch England isn’t being set up ‘tomorrow’ i.e. as soon as possible

We do not want history to repeat itself; therefore it is important that HealthWatch England is set up as soon as possible, especially in the interest of patients and the public, to ensure a smooth and seamless transition from LINks to LHW.

It was a pleasure meeting RT Hon Stephen Dorrell and we hope our concerns will be shared with those down in WhiteHall, but … our work doesn’t stop here. The LINk is still at the forefront of making a difference and we will keep lobbying our MPs over some of the reforms being made.

If you would like to get involved, please contact me by email saima@communitiesinpartnership.org.uk or call 0116 2293048