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Health Bill Amendment: good news for patient involvement

Charity coalition National Voices is celebrating a government amendment to the Health & Social Care Bill which will clarify the meaning of patient and service user involvement.

Don Redding, National Voices’ Director of Policy, says: “This amendment is good news for patients and service users. We are pleased that the government has responded to our members’ concerns, after a year of campaigning. This wording will send a clear signal to commissioners that they must ensure, in all their commissioning, that people are engaged in their individual care and treatment. The National Commissioning Board must now produce further guidance on how to do so.”

Strengthen Health Bill for Patients say Charities in Letter to The Times

9/01/2012

More than 40 national health and social care charities – all members of the National Voices coalition - have written to The Times calling on the government to make the Health Bill work better for patients and other service users.

The charities say that the Bill is weak on patient involvement in their care. However this can and should be remedied easily.

While the Bill sets out to create an NHS where there is ‘no decision about us, without us’, as it stands, it contains no direct reference to the most effective forms of shared decision making with patients.

National Voices attacks "mini-budget for ill health"

30/11/2011

Health charity coalition National Voices today criticised the government’s  Autumn Statement for its likely impact on health. The decisions to squeeze public sector pay and tax credits will hit poorest households the hardest and be likely to increase poverty.

Poverty is associated with a higher risk of physical and mental ill health and early death.

National Voices highlights the government’s inconsistent approach to health.  On the one hand, the NHS budget has been ring-fenced and the Health and Social Care Bill would impose a new duty on the Secretary of State to reduce health inequalities. On the other hand, policies on macroeconomic management and welfare do not appear to be influenced by health considerations.  Members of the National Voices' coalition have previously criticised the impact of benefit changes on people with disabilities, and the slowness of the Government to push ahead with reforms to social care funding.

30 Charities call on David Nicholson to endorse New Principles for Integrated Care

25 October 2011 News Release

MORE than 30 national charities have written to Sir David Nicholson, Chief Executive of the NHS in England, asking him to endorse National Voices’ Principles for Integrated Care, which are launched on Tuesday 25 October.

The Health and Social Care Bill 2011 will give duties to secure or promote integrated services to both commissioners and regulators.

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