RCP: Mentally ill will suffer from NHS reforms
Thursday, 2 February 2012 11:06 AM
The Royal College of Psychiatrists explains its lack of support for the health and social care bill before yesterday's amendments were released:
"As it currently stands, the Royal College of Psychiatrists is not able to support the health and social care bill.
"We now believe that the consequences of the bill will be entirely different from the principles which were originally set out, and do not consider that it will improve the health and care of people with mental illness.
"Indeed, we have strong concerns that it will have the opposite effect.
"For the last 18 months, the College has actively engaged with the policy development process, from the publication in July 2010 of the Health and Social Care White Paper Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, through to the various parliamentary stages of the bill, including the Future Forum's 'Listening Exercise' last April and May.
"We have endeavoured to secure provisions that will ensure a parity of esteem between physical and mental health, and have continued to work to bring about changes which we see as critical for high-quality care of vulnerable patients and for high-quality postgraduate medical education.
"Our commitment to securing the best outcomes for our service users, patients and carers has been demonstrated by the work we have done with the Royal College of General practitioners to establish and run the Joint Commissioning Panel on Mental
Health which will inform high-quality mental health and learning disability
commissioning.
"However, despite government reassurances, we have become increasingly concerned about the bill; in October 2011 84% of College members who responded to a survey believed the College should call for it to be withdrawn."
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