Message from our Chief Executive

Dear National Voices members,

As we await a forthcoming government White Paper, National Voices has been very busy on your behalf ensuring that we are positioned to influence the development of the new government’s health and social care agenda. So far, the patient-friendly rhetoric has been great, but with potentially huge changes in prospect for funding and organisation, we think there is a big risk of harmful side-effects. Our initial analysis of the coalition government’s programme is here.

Rather than just reacting to the government’s emerging agenda, we are still planning a definitive autumn policy paper. We now need your input. Please read and respond to this outline narrative and particularly the embedded questions. We want to know what is really good that needs spreading or at the very least protecting. And we need to bear witness to changes and cuts that may be harming patients, service-users, families and carers.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Highlights and Updates

Andrew Lansley, Health Secretary

We co-hosted Andrew Lansley’s first speech as secretary of state on 8 June.

National Assembly

Paul Streets, director of patient and public experience at the Department of Health, met our National Assembly on 16 June and was warned that the Government must not rush its implementation of reforms; must consult and involve and must do more to narrow health inequalities. We subsequently sent Paul this paper.

At the same meeting National Assembly members discussed the developing government agenda with Nigel Edwards, interim chief executive at the NHS Confederation, and lay participation on health boardswith Elisabeth Buggins, CBE, chair of NHS West Midlands.

Social Care Reference Group

Jeremy Taylor has been invited to join the social care reference group, chaired by the minister for care services, Paul Burstow. At a meeting on 22 June, the minister presented a positive vision of social care reform, including the intention that the new social care commission on future funding will report by July 2011. Among others, we emphasised the need for practical mechanisms to integrate health and social care.

NHS Confederation Conference

Jeremy Taylor spoke at the NHS Confederation conference on 25 June to an audience of NHS managers and clinicians. We said that the government must be true to its word in “seeing the service through users’ eyes” as it implements its reforms. We urged NHS leaders to exert real leadership in the interests of patients and families, at this time of uncertainty and change – just when leadership is most needed. We urged the medical profession to get real about sharing decisions with patients.

Whose NHS is it Anyway?

On 30 June, as a partner of the NHS Alliance, National Voices supported the launch of Whose NHS is it Anyway? in the House of Lords, attended by Earl Howe, minister for quality at the Department of Health.Click here to read the paper, to which National Voices contributed.

On 1 July, Jeremy Taylor met Earl Howe who said he was keen to work with National Voices. We said that he would find us supportive of the thrust of the government’s policies on health; keen to shape the implementation, but also assertive in pointing out the adverse effects on health and well being of the government’s wider policies as they affected employment, public spending, social care, housing and benefits etc.

The Long Term Conditions (LTC) Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) Pilot Advisory Group

National Voices trustee Angela Coulter will represent National Voices on the above group, led by the Department of Health. Click here for terms of reference. The first meeting will take place in the summer/early autumn. For further correspondence on this please contact Angela.

Please tell us About Showcase Activities and Events

In our discussions with the Department of Health, we are being asked to flag activities which showcase the way our sector is having a positive impact on patients/users (and on society in general).  We would love to hear from members about the following - along with a brief description of their impact:

§  events

§  activities e.g. re-enablement/volunteering/befriending activities

§  projects

§  user groups

§  engagement opportunities

Please send responses to our policy and research intern, Matthew Charlton.

Incapacity Benefit concerns

Several members have raised concern about the coalition government’s policies on Incapacity Benefit. The coalition agreement stated: “We will re-assess all current claimants of Incapacity Benefit for their readiness to work. Those assessed as fully capable for work will be moved onto Jobseeker’s Allowance.”

National Voices has written to Iain Duncan-Smith to flag the issues around this and suggested the department works with National Voices and members on developments. We received a reply noting our concerns and are hoping to hear more on this - we will keep members updated on further correspondence. Meanwhile, Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind and chair of the Disability Charities Consortium, has offered to work with National Voices’ members on this issue. To get involved, pleasecontact Paul.

HSJ supplement: ‘The patient will see you now’

The Health Service Journal (HSJ) and the Health Foundation have published a supplement, The Patient Will See You Now, which explores how changing the interaction between patients and service providers can be a driver for improving quality. This supplement reports a round table event attended by National Voices chief executive, Jeremy Taylor and members Paul Hodgkin (Patient Opinion), Patrick Vernon (Afiya Trust) and Malcolm Alexander (NALM). An online version is available on the Health Foundation webpage.