BHF comment
Government rejects plans to improve NHS workforce planning
In July 2021, the Government published the Health and Care Bill, the first major piece of NHS legislation since 2012.
The Bill proposed changes to NHS rules and structures in England by better joining up services, emphasising collaboration rather than competition, and focusing on improving health.
The Bill was debated in the House of Commons yesterday, as amendments made in the House of Lords were considered.
Workforce amendment defeated
A proposed amendment to the Health and Care Bill – which would have made it compulsory for the Government to publish regular, independent assessments of how many doctors and nurses the NHS needs – has been defeated.
The amendment would have helped inform long-term decisions about workforce planning in the NHS – something that has been missing for many years.
We are disappointed that Government has removed this amendment, and it is now unclear how ambitious targets laid out in the Elective Recovery Plan and other NHS delivery plans can be met.
Without a long-term workforce plan, heart patients will likely experience further delays, further cancellations and poorer outcomes.
The amendment had widespread support within the health and care sector, with over 100 organisations, including us, signing a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to accept the amendment.
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, our Chief Executive said: “Despite the Bill’s many positives, the Government has missed an open goal by failing to begin to address the workforce shortage in the health and care sector.
“A long-term workforce plan is desperately needed to reduce the vast and still-growing elective care backlog, as staffing shortages continue to impact vital cardiac services and heart patients.
"As a matter of urgency, we need to see a specific cardiovascular recovery strategy that includes clear plans for tackling the severe shortages in cardiac nurses and specialists.”
Junk food marketing restrictions survive changes
Vital policies to restrict the advertising of unhealthy food and drink on TV and online were due to come into force in January..However, due to a delay in the progress of the Bill, the Government has given industry extra time to prepare for these restrictions.
While understandable, this risks indefinitely delaying the implementation of these restrictions. This could leave children exposed to harmful junk food advertising, which has an impact on their dietary choices and contributes to childhood obesity.
Ministers have stated that it is still their intention to meet the 1 January deadline, and we were pleased that further attempts to delay and weaken the legislation were not successful.
We will continue to work with the Obesity Health Alliance to ensure the full implementation of these restrictions with no further delay.
More work needed to achieve smokefree 2030
It has been more than two years since the Government committed to the ‘bold action’ needed to make England smokefree by 2030 (defined as 5 per cent smoking prevalence or less).Disappointingly, amendments were rejected by the Government which would have required the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to carry out a consultation on a “polluter pays levy” scheme.
Aimed at tobacco manufacturers, this aims to make tobacco less accessible while raising money to pay for tobacco control measures.
If the Government is serious about the smokefree 2030 target, more needs to be done to support tobacco control measures and regulate the industry.
Embedding research in the NHS
The Government’s amendment to embed research at the heart of the NHS was accepted yesterday, following calls from 14 organisations across the medical, patient and life sciences communities, including the BHF.Coupled with the right support and resourcing across the NHS, this could help to make the UK a destination of choice for cutting edge clinical research, ensuring that UK patients have access to the most innovative treatments available.