The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has released its response to Equity and Excellence – Liberating the NHS.
The Government’s commitment to ensuring that the NHS is available to all, free at the point of use and based on clinical need is well received.
The RCOG welcomes the proposals to remove bureaucracy and unnecessary targets in the NHS and the renewed focus on patient centred care. The RCOG believes that emphasis placed on clinical outcomes will result in better care for patients.
Maternity services require round-the-clock staffing and the RCOG is pleased to see recognition of the need for a consultant-led service in a European Working Time Regulation (EWTR) compliant NHS. Establishing perinatal networks which combine maternity and neonatal services will provide better care for mothers and their babies but these need to be underpinned by good clinical leadership, multidisciplinary teamworking and adequate resourcing.
The RCOG is concerned by the social factors which affect the health of women, namely: rising levels of obesity, alcohol and tobacco consumption, earlier and later maternal age and poor mental health. The shift towards adopting a public health approach to maternity and gynaecology will result in comprehensive services being offered to women. This requires multi-agency working and must be supported by informed choice so that women can be encouraged to lead healthier lifestyles.
Commissioning arrangements for obstetric and gynaecological services need to be considered carefully by the Government to prevent divisions within the specialty. The RCOG warns that continuity of care in women’s health must occur or quality may be compromised. There must also be close working between primary, secondary and tertiary service providers to enable continuity of care.
Dr Anthony Falconer, RCOG President said “The White Paper on NHS represents a major change in health service thinking and it will be crucial to continue to involve the profession on the proposed changes to women’s services. We look forward to the opportunity for further engagement with the Government and health service agencies in implementing improvements in safety, quality and acceptability of services for women and babies . The vision incorporating outcomes indicators for patient care should be applauded and will be strongly supported by our discipline.’”
The RCOG has also made submissions to the following sub-consultations:
- Transparency in Outcomes: A framework for the NHS (pdf)
- Local democratic legitimacy in health (pdf)
- Commissioning for patients (pdf)
- Regulating healthcare providers (pdf)
Ends
For more information about this release, contact Gerald Chan on 020 7772 6446 or email gchan@rcog.org.uk .
