Fears grow over NHS plans future

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26 January 2012 Last updated at 01:23 GMT The health bill is working its way through Parliament Talks between ministers and medical leaders have taken place over concerns about changes to the NHS in England.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, which represents 20 groups, held a meeting on Tuesday night to discuss their opposition to the plans.

A draft statement was drawn up which the BBC understands said the medical establishment could not support the overhaul plans in their current form.

However, it is unclear whether it will be signed off.

The view of the royal colleges, which are the professional bodies in the NHS that set standards in areas such as training, is seen as key in the current climate.

'Serious concerns'

Unions have already come out to say the overhaul should be scrapped, but ministers said this had been motivated by the row over pay and pensions.

This week an influential group of MPs said the changes were hindering the NHS as it attempts to make the savings it needs to safeguard patient care.

If the medical royal colleges toughen their stance, it could provide a devastating blow to the government's attempts to get its changes through parliament.

The bill underpinning the changes is due back in the Lords next month.

The meeting on Tuesday night was followed by a series of discussions between ministers and the colleges on Wednesday.

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Changes are needed and we want the NHS to be able to make them in the interests of patients”

End Quote Department of Health spokesman The BBC also understands some colleges are not convinced a hardening of their position is the right move. The Royal College of Surgeons has made it clear it would not sign up to the draft statement.

The academy, which in the autumn said it had serious concerns about the plans, particularly in the areas of accountability, competition and training, is now due to meet the three key health unions on Thursday night.

The academy confirmed it had had discussions about its "continuing concerns", but would not be making a statement at the moment.

But the government has indicated it was ready to push ahead with the changes regardless of what happens.

A Department of Health spokesman said: "There will always be some people who oppose changes to the status quo in the NHS.

"We have listened and we have made changes which have been widely welcomed including by professional bodies. But this process cannot go on forever. Changes are needed and we want the NHS to be able to make them in the interests of patients."

The developments came after the prime minister and Labour leader Ed Miliband clashed during Prime Minister's questions on Wednesday.

Mr Miliband said it was time for the bill should be scrapped.

Source BBC

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Fears as GPs offer private option

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5 October 2011 Last updated at 10:23 GMT By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News GPs in York have targeted patients for private work Fears are being raised over a blurring of the lines between private and NHS care after news emerged of GPs targeting patients for private work.

A York-based practice has written to its patients offering them a range of minor treatments privately, claiming they are not funded by the local NHS.

Doctors' leaders said this could be the start of a worrying trend due to the squeeze on finances and NHS overhaul.

But the government denied the case was related to these factors.

It comes after the Haxby Practice in York, which serves 20,000 patients, wrote to some offering patients the option of having work done privately.

Savings

The letter, seen by the BBC, said local health chiefs had stopped funding a range of services, but added they could still have them done privately at a number of clinics, including one owned by the practice.

These included removing skin tags from £56.30 to treating benign tumours for £243.20.

In total, more than eight procedures were listed, although local NHS managers disputed claims that two of them had been banned.

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The dire finances of many trusts means that many more NHS treatments are likely to become unavailable in the future”

End Quote Richard Vautrey British Medical Association Nonetheless, the case has prompted concern in the medical profession.

Royal College of GPs chairman Dr Clare Gerada said: "We believe that the boundary between what a GP offers under their NHS provision, and what is offered for a private fee, is in danger of becoming increasingly blurred.

"The NHS works because patients trust their doctors. This is especially so with GPs, and is something we cannot allow to be diminished."

Dr Richard Vautrey, of the British Medical Association, added: "The dire finances of many trusts means that many more NHS treatments are likely to become unavailable in the future.

"The BMA is very concerned by the potential conflicts of interest that this example exposes. The last thing any GP wants is to see patient trust damaged.

"Unfortunately the direction of travel in NHS policy, particularly combined with the financial situation, does increase the risk of conflicts of interest for GPs which is one the reasons the BMA is so concerned about the Health and Social Care Bill."

'Significant concerns'

The local NHS trust also expressed concern.

Dr David Geddes, medical director of NHS North Yorkshire and York, said: "We have significant concerns about this letter which we will be addressing with them directly and as a matter of urgency. We will then decide what further action is necessary.

"We were not made aware of this letter in advance. Had we been consulted we would have advised against its release."

He also pointed out that even in cases where treatments were not routinely provided, patients could still apply for NHS funding through the exceptional cases process.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said the policy changes being made did not make such cases more likely and instead took issue with the way patients had seemingly been approached.

"Advertising private healthcare options for the purpose of income generation is not an appropriate use of information provided by patients for the purposes of receiving NHS care. The code of conduct for the promotion of NHS-funded services makes this clear."

She added the Health Bill would actually end up strengthening the safeguards to prevent conflicts of interest as regulators will be charged with ensuring doctors stick to the rules.

But John McEvoy, managing partner at the Haxby Group, defended the move, pointing out that the letter had listed other private providers as well as the practice's own clinic.

"They had a choice to go elsewhere," he added.

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California Farm Recalls Lettuce Over Listeria Fears

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A California farm said Thursday it was voluntarily recalling bags of chopped romaine lettuce because of possible contamination with listeria, though no illnesses have been reported.

True Leaf Farms of Salinas announced the recall of 90 cartons that were shipped to an Oregon food service distributor. From the distributor, it might have gone to at least two other states, Washington and Idaho.

The Food and Drug Administration notified the company that a sample from one bag taken as part of a random check tested positive for listeria.

MORE: Listeria-Laced Cantaloupe: 6 Things You Need to Know

Federal health officials say they've gotten better at detecting the germs that cause food poisoning, so they are seeing them in produce more often.

The recall covers product with a use by date of Sept. 29. The bag and box code is B256-46438-8.

California health officials are looking into the contamination, said Ken August, spokesman for the California Department of Public Health, but have not yet determined how the lettuce became contaminated.

"Anytime there is a contaminated food product, we are concerned and take steps so that it's removed from shelves as quickly as possible and to notify consumers," he said.

Listeria rarely shows up in produce, but an outbreak linked to cantaloupe from a Colorado farm has caused at least 72 illnesses, including up to 16 deaths, in 18 states.

August said the state is working with the company to verify the distribution of the produce being recalled. Most of the lettuce was sold to California institutions such as restaurants and cafeterias, he said, and only a small amount went to retail in other states, August said.

The Salinas Valley is known as the "Salad Bowl of the World" for its production of lettuce and numerous other crops.

Lettuce currently picked at the farm is safe to eat, said Steve Church, CEO of Church Brothers, which sells and markets the farm's produce. The company is working with the FDA, Church said, to determine if there are any problems at the farm and is taking more time to sanitize its produce.

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