Responding to the King's Speech, BMA deputy chair of council Dr Emma Runswick said:

"The NHS Modernisation Bill is a huge undertaking and doctors' and patients’ past experience with large top-down reorganisations of the NHS have not always been a happy one.

"The record of NHS England has been mixed, at times proving more of a hindrance than a help to the medical profession in its efforts to deliver high-quality patient care. This is particularly evident in NHS England’s continued role in enabling employers to replace doctors with less qualified staff, undermining the unique skills and expertise doctors bring to patient care. However, NHS England’s abolition has been handled shambolically leaving some key staff with vital experience left in limbo for months with many facing redundancy.

"Despite the Government’s ambition in the NHS 10 Year Plan to prioritise prevention of ill-health,, the reorganisation risks a further loss of public health doctors at a time when their expertise is needed more than ever to keep the nation healthy, and, crucially, it is unclear how the medical education and training functions will be managed in future. 

"The announcement of a Single Patient Record is welcome, however it is crucial that GPs voices are listened to in its implementation to ensure patient data remains safe and patient confidence is protected.

“Our many reservations about how the data in the SPR will be used aside, simply improving data access will not on its own move the key blocks to productivity and flow in the system. These blocks are still staffing, retention and expertise in safe patient care, and these cannot be fixed without resolving the multiple ongoing disputes with NHS staff themselves. We don't need a Patient Experience Directorate within the DHSC to tell us that patients want to see doctors, and see them sooner."

 

Notes to editors

The BMA is a professional association and trade union representing and negotiating on behalf of all doctors in the UK. A leading voice advocating for outstanding health care and a healthy population. An association providing members with excellent individual services and support throughout their lives.