Is Burden Of Regulation Failing To Match Benefits? UK

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 10 Dec 2007 - 3:00 PDT

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This week's Healthcare Commission report: State of Healthcare 2006/07 is causing NHS frontline professionals to question whether the burden of regulation is becoming so onerous that it fails to match the benefits to patients, the NHS Alliance has warned.

The Alliance, which represents primary care clinicians and managers as well as PCTs and GP practices, says there is an urgent need for a dialogue with the Healthcare Commission in order to establish a balance between the needs of the regulators and the needs of individual patients.

For instance, the Commission says that checking the height and weight of every patient in order to establish a BMI database is "basic work" for GPs. Dr Michael Dixon, NHS Alliance chairman and a GP, disagrees. He said:

"My basic work - and that of every GP and every clinician - is to make sure my patient gets the best possible treatment for whatever condition he or she is suffering from. That may include checking height and weight. But often that is inappropriate. The patient may be acutely ill and in pain. He or she may be distressed, worried or anxious. There may be an urgent need for specific treatment or for referral to a specialist for further investigations. The patient's needs must come before the needs of bureaucracy."

Primary care trusts are also sometimes finding that the time and effort needed to satisfy the demands of regulators is distorting their essential day to day work for patients. Dr Dixon said:

"The purpose of regulation is to protect patients and ensure services are planned and delivered effectively. There is a danger that it is developing a life of its own divorced from that. We urge the Healthcare Commission to discuss with those who deliver care to patients the best way forward."

The NHS Alliance is a collaboration of professionals who put patients first. Values based, it is the only organisation that brings together PCTs with practices, clinicians with managers and Board members - and NHS primary care with its patients. The Alliance membership and its hard working national executive is fully multi-professional.

http://www.nhsalliance.org