Health and Care Bill 2021

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The Health and Care Bill, introduced into the House of Commons in July 2021 is intended to dismantle many of the structures established by the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Many of the proposals were drafted under the leadership of Simon Stevens and are intended to reinforce the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan. It is the first substantial health legislation in the premiership of Boris Johnson. It was proposed to take effect in April 2022, but in December 2021 it was reported that implementation would be delayed until July 2022.[1]

Provisions[]

The Bill would put integrated care systems on a statutory footing, and would merge NHS England and NHS Improvement.

It provides for the Care Quality Commission to assess how local authorities deliver their adult social care functions.[2]

It proposes to establish an integrated care board and an integrated care partnership in every part of England. Each board would be required to have, as a minimum:

  • Four executives – the chief executive and finance, nursing and medical directors.
  • Three independent non-executives: a chair and at least two others. They “will normally not hold positions or offices in other health and care organisations within the ICS footprint”.
  • Three “partner members”: one from an NHS trust/foundation trust in the patch, one from general practice, and one from a local authority. [3]

It will allow NHS Digital to collect more information on medicines to analyse their use and safety and request information from private providers and make it a criminal offence to share that data inappropriately.[4]

It is claimed that it will “dispose of unnecessary bureaucracy that has held the health service back”, and will ensure the NHS is “more accountable to government”.[5]

It includes provisions which would give the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care more power to direct NHS agencies, including NHS England and Improvement, and over local service reconfigurations.[6]

The bill will criminalise "aiding and abetting" women to undergo hymenorrhaphy, or hymen reconstruction surgery, along with virginity testing.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ "ICS launch delayed until July". Health Service Journal. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Health and Care Bill 2021-22". House of Commons Library. July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  3. ^ "NHS England reveals who will sit on ICS boards". Health Service Journal. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Health bill introduces new criminal offence for sharing NHS data". Health Service Journal. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Government ploughs ahead with Health & Care Bill". Local Government Chronicle. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  6. ^ "First major NHS legislation in nine years confirms DHSC power grab". Health Service Journal. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  7. ^ Sandhu, Rajdeep (2022-01-25). "Hymen repair surgery and virginity testing to be banned in UK". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-01-27.

External links[]

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