Royal College of Physicians response to Future Forum report 13 June 2011

Monday, 13 June 2011 3:10 PM

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is pleased that the Future Forum has recommended multiprofessional involvement and an increased role for hospital doctors in commissioning. RCP President Sir Richard Thompson said:

‘We urge the government to grasp the opportunity to give hospital doctors a mandated place on the board of local commissioning bodies to guarantee integration of primary and secondary care. To encourage this, the RCP also wants GPs to sit on the boards of foundation trusts. In this way all doctors will work together to lead a health service in the best interests of patients.’

On competition:

‘The recommendation that Monitor’s role should be altered from promoting competition to promoting collaboration and integration is a step in the right direction. The Health and Social Care Bill must clearly state that the primary focus of regulation is promoting integration, collaboration and quality – not promoting competition. The RCP now waits to see how the government will reconcile choice and patient safety through the regulators, Monitor and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).’

On education and training, the RCP is pleased that the Future Forum acknowledges that ‘Mistakes may be costly and the impact of mistakes on both the health service and the public will be long lasting.’

We fully support its recommendations to retain the postgraduate Deaneries which play a crucial role in planning, organising and delivering postgraduate medical education and training. Stable managerial and administrative arrangements for Deaneries must remain in place during the health reforms, and more time will be needed for the reforms to bed down before attempting any changes to the way postgraduate medical education is delivered.’

He concluded;

‘Thousands of doctors in the NHS play vital national roles outside their hospitals, producing clinical guidelines, patient pathways, reports and toolkits to improve patient care. The RCP welcomes the Future Forum’s recognition of this national role, and calls on the government to agree that doctors need protected time to take up these national roles.

Suzie Hughes, chair of RCP’s Patient and Carer Network said, ‘We welcome the Future Forum’s commitment to strengthening patient involvement across the NHS. It is crucial that patients are strategically involved throughout the health service, with lay involvement in commissioning decisions. We look forward to seeing this commitment being recognised by the government and formalised in the Bill.’

Sir Richard is available for comment and interview.

Linda Cuthbertson

PR Manager
Royal College of Physicians
11 St Andrews Place
Regent's Park
London NW1 4LE
Tel: 020 3075 1254
Out of hours: 07896 416409

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