City & Hackney CCG calls for withdrawal of the Health Bill

CITY & HACKNEY

PATHFINDER CLINICAL COMMISSIONING GROUP

City & Hackney Clinical Commissioning Group

Second Floor

The Lawson Practice

85 Nuttall Street

London

Thursday, 1 March 2012 N1 5LZ

Dear Prime Minister,

The Board of City & Hackney Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) join Tower Hamlets and most other GPs and nurses and ask you to withdraw the Health and Social Care Bill.

We strongly support the benefits of involving clinicians in commissioning, but do not support the Bill. We have been involved as GPs in commissioning for the last five years and have brought about many improvements for our patients. We have done this through a social enterprise with public members, without your Bill. We believe the Bill will hamper future improvements, not help us.

We have:

Streamlined clinical care across twenty four pathways, improving quality and reducing waits for our patients while saving money;

Used the power and enthusiasm of clinicians working together to change care for older people;

Introduced an integrated Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease team;

Designed and implemented a Primary Care Psychotherapy Team service;

Created a Practice Based Diabetes Specialist Team which has led the Audit Commission to award us ‘most improved’ status.

We are now having to go through huge disruption and a very bureaucratic process to be authorised as a CCG. This is already taking us away from working on clinical pathways with our local hospital, mental health and other services. Our NHS Primary Care Trust managers are also distracted by having to form a ‘business’ commissioning support organisation with us as their ‘customers’.

As GPs we care deeply about our local NHS and the quality of care we are able to offer our patients. We object to you using our willingness to be elected onto our CCGs by our peers to improve patient care as evidence that we support your Bill. Like most NHS staff, we are afraid the NHS will be damaged beyond recognition in a few years if the Bill is passed.

We are pleased to add our voice to the call for the Bill to be withdrawn.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Clare Highton and Dr Haren Patel

Chairs, City & Hackney Clinical Commissioning Group