Prime Minister should halt proposed abolition of independent patient voice, Liberal Democrats say
Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Health, described the proposals in the Health Bill, as a “catastrophic step backwards” and the “greatest backward step in patient safety in a generation” during an interview on 10 August with the BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.
Healthwatch England, the network of over 150 local Healthwatch, and others such as the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB), which carries out patient safety investigations, are all proposed to be abolished in the government's Health Bill.
Proposed changes in the Health Bill would mean local authorities and integrated care boards (ICBs) would have to respond to feedback about their own services, rather than being challenged by independent bodies.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for the proposals to be halted to protect public safety and prevent weakening safeguards, including the independent scrutiny currently provided by Healthwatch, that have been established to ensure patients can raise concerns independently and that failures within the health service are properly investigated.
The Health Bill was proposed in May by the then health secretary Wes Streeting.
In January, during a speech on NHS reform, Wes Streeting said:
"There are many decent people working at Healthwatch who care, but the job of listening to patients can't be farmed out to an arm's length body. It must be core business for the NHS."
However, in May the Local Government Association (LGA) told BBC News that disbanding Healthwatch would be a “significant step back” in accountability and "without an independent, locally rooted voice to challenge and represent communities, there is a risk of duplication and gaps in accountability". The LGA warned that abolishing Healthwatch would leave the NHS “marking their own homework”.
The Health Bill is currently at the report stage, with its next scrutiny stage in the House of Commons due on 7 September.
There are currently more than 150 local Healthwatch organisations in England supported by Healthwatch England.
Public Voice manages four local Healthwatch in Hounslow, Haringey, Barnet and Croydon.
An article following the BBC Radio 4 interview is published on the BBC News website. You can also listen to the interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme (starting around 6:53am) on BBC Sounds.
To read more about the interview, click on the ‘Find out more’ button below.
