27 October 2011
The House of Lords have rejected a motion to delay the NHS bill despite concerns in political parties, the public and professionals in the health and social care sector.
Peers voted 330 to 262 against an amendment, which would have referred parts of the bill to a select committee. It was expected that this would have caused the implementation of the act to go over the allowed time limit thus voiding it.
An online petition called; “Save the NHS: Sign the Petition” is at nearly half a million signatures from people who support the notion to, “make sure that David Cameron knows how much we care about our health services.”
Lord Sugar was regularly posting his comments on Twitter about the proposals and called the bill, “dangerous.” He said it was, “time for peers to form a real coalition to save the NHS from Cameron and Lansley’s plans.”
Ministers say the changes are vital to help the NHS cope with the demands of the ageing population, the costs of new drugs and treatments and the impact of lifestyle factors, such as obesity.
CEO of Association for Real Change, Jane Livingstone, said: “As I understand it, the biggest issue for learning disability services is going to be commissioning, particularly for people with more complex needs, whose support may have been funded by Health Trusts.
“There is real potential for a more personal approach, but equally only if whoever holds the money understands their needs.”
The bill proposes that instead of Primary Care Trusts controlling spending the responsibility will be given to Clinical commissioning groups and health providers themselves.
Labour peer and former GP, Lord Rea, who argued it was never a manifesto commitment by either the Conservatives or the Liberal Democrats, put the amendment forward.
Another proposal to block the bill altogether has also been rejected.
The Health and Social Care Bill will now proceed to a normal committee stage in the Lords.
More information about the Lords’ vote can be found on the BBC website
A Q&A about the reforms can be found on the BBC website