New patients' forums will lack any real clout, says BMA

doi:10.1136/bmj.39521.633750.DB

BMJ 2008;336:635 (22 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.39521.633750.DB

News

New patients’ forums will lack any real clout, says BMA

Caroline White

¹ London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The new system in England to represent patients’ and publicopinion on health and social care is poorly resourced, insufficientlyindependent, and unlikely to be able to exercise any real clout,claims the BMA.

In the second of its reports on the future of the NHS in Englandthe BMA raises several concerns about local involvement networks(LINKs), which will replace patient and public involvement forumsnext month.

The new networks will enable commissioners, regulators, andlocal authorities’ overview and scrutiny committees togauge public opinion on health and social care, excluding privatelyrun NHS services. Each local authority will fund its own LINK,which will number 150 $-$ fewer than the forums they are replacing.

But this funding arrangement may compromise the networks’autonomy, says the BMA. And because the funds aren’t ringfencedthey could be diverted elsewhere. It also argues that the networkslack an overarching body to coordinate . . . [Full text of this article]

Add to CiteULike CiteULike Add to Complore Complore Add to Connotea Connotea Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us Add to Digg Digg Add to Reddit Reddit Add to Technorati Technorati What's this?