ABDO has cautiously welcomed the Health and Care Bill, which was introduced to parliament last week.
The bill builds on proposals for legislative change set out in the NHS Long Term Plan.
The main reforms specific to eyecare are to:
• Integrate the NHS in England, to include all health and social care providers
• Set the structure of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs)
• Remove elements of competition in procurement
• Expand the powers of direction of the secretary of state
ABDO head of policy and public affairs, Debbie McGill, commented: “We welcome the proposed measures for health and care integration, and we hope that the ICBs will be inclusive of all primary health and social care providers to discuss, agree and deliver patient-centred services based on individual and population need.
“ABDO is part of the Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee [OFNC] which is in discussions with NHS England on the opportunities from the bill to enhance the delivery of eye health care services utilising the optical profession and the multi-disciplinary teams within to their full potential, which will in turn relieve pressures on GPs and hospital ophthalmology departments.
“We still have some concerns on a couple of points within the bill, one of which is around commissioning of services. Our main concern here is what will be commissioned nationally and locally and what this means for General Ophthalmic Services [GOS]. The OFNC will be issuing a press release on this soon based on the encouraging conversations we have had with NHS England on this point.
“Another of our concerns are around the lack of detail on governance and process and the increased powers the Bill gives to the Secretary of State. We do not agree with the proposal in the Bill that the Government should have the power to abolish a regulator or deregulate a profession through an Order in Council. This would mean very limited parliamentary scrutiny of what are matters of significant public interest. Parliament should be allowed to properly examine any such proposals as is currently the case.
“The second reading of the bill will take place on 14 July, where we expect to be provided with some timelines and further details. We will communicate again with members in due course to keep you informed.”
Read the Health and Care Bill in full here.