Over 92 per cent of respondents to a poll carried out by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) think that it is appropriate to seek the withdrawal of the Health and Social Care Bill, the RCGP revealed yesterday.
When asked if the College should call for the bill to be withdrawn as part of a joint approach with other medical royal colleges, more than 98% of respondents said they strongly supported (65.8%) or supported (32.4%) such action.
Even without a joint approach, more than 92% of respondents still said that they either strongly supported (55.8%) or supported (37.0%) the College in proceeding alone in calling for the bill’s withdrawal.
With nearly 2,600 completed responses, this latest poll, the last of three surveys commissioned by RCGP Chair Dr Clare Gerada, has attracted the largest response yet.
More than 60% of respondents said that they felt more negative about the impact of the Health and Social Care Bill on the NHS than they did at the time of the College’s last survey in the autumn, with only 5.3% saying they felt more positive.
Less than 14% of respondents (360) said that they believed the reforms would result in better patient care.
As before, respondents were asked what they thought the result of the reforms would be, and:
• Nearly 60% (1,559 respondents) said the reforms would not result in more cost-effective delivery of care
• Nearly 90% (2,346 respondents) said that the reforms would increase the involvement of the private sector, and
• More than three quarters (1,971 respondents) said that the reforms would not reduce bureaucracy in the NHS.
In light of the survey’s findings, the College has written to Health Secretary Andrew Lansley reiterating its concerns and calling for changes to be made to ensure the Secretary of State’s existing duty to provide, or secure the provision of, a comprehensive health service throughout England, be retained.
The RCGP is also concerned that commissioners will be required to open up services to competition and wants further safeguards on education and training.