BLOG

Health and Social Care - Parliamentary Round Up - February 2012 | 24/01/12

The end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 saw the Department of Health make some important announcements for the health and social care sector.

On the penultimate day of 2011 Health Secretary Andrew Lansley announced the launch of the first ever Government funded whistleblowing line for staff in the social care sector and NHS. Mr Lansley stated that the helpline is part of the Government’s commitment to tackling poor practice and is an additional measure to the introduction of a “contractual duty to raise concerns.”

On the subject of the whistleblowing helpline, Lansley said: “Staff on the frontline know when patient services need to improve. That’s why staff who blow the whistle are crucial in helping to raise standards, and we’re determined to support them.”

Elsewhere, in what could be described as closure following the collapse of Care Home provider Southern Cross, December saw the Department of Health welcome the transfer to new ownership of the last homes previously under Southern Cross control. Care Services Minister Paul Burstow acknowledged the relatively smooth transfer of ex- Southern Cross homes, stating it was a result of multilateral collaboration between many key stakeholders in both the social care sector and the Government. 

Mr Burstow said: “I would like to thank all of the organisations which have worked together with the Government to ensure that the transfer of care homes has been carried out with minimum impact on residents and staff. This has involved complex and difficult negotiations, but throughout, we have made clear that continuity of care for residents was paramount.”

As well as acknowledging the success of the Southern Cross homes transfers, Mr Burstow also highlighted that the provider’s collapse spurred Government change, and that the Government is now in the process of examining whether there are sufficient safeguards in place to oversee the market and protect those reliant on vital services.

Mr Burstow was keen to stress that the resulting discussion paper on the oversight of the social care markets will also inform the imminent White Paper on the reform of adult social care, which is due to be released in the spring.

In the continued vein of improvement to care, the Prime Minister David Cameron started the year by announcing the ‘Time to Care’ initiative, a drive to focus on the quality of nursing care. The Department of Health stated that the aim is for nurses to spend more time on front line care, patients leading on inspection and the introduction of a ‘friends and family test’ to measure the quality of care received by patients.

Explaining his reasons for launching the initiative, David Cameron said: “If we want dignity and respect, we need to focus on nurses and the care they deliver. The whole approach to caring in this country needs to be reset.  And it needs to start with this simple fact.  Caring for patients is what nurses do. Everything else comes second.”

It is clear from the few potentially transformative measures announced by the Government over the holiday season and start to the New Year, that quality of care is a critical focus for the nation’s health and social care agenda. As the publication of the social care reform White Paper draws closer we can expect to see the entire sector thrust even further into the limelight. I think it is fair to predict that 2012 will see the Government announce more schemes that place patient care at the heart of their health and social care agenda.