News > Policy matters

The Richmond Group of Charities is a coalition of 10 of the leading health and social care organisations in the voluntary sector. The group is working together as a collective voice to better influence health and social care policy, with the aim of improving the care and support for the 17 million patients we collectively represent. They have identified some of the key issues that the health and social care system must embrace for all people who have a Long Term Condition in order to be sustainable and ensure quality and productivity truly work hand in hand. Their report From vision to action: Making patient-centred care a reality is intended to offer a clear strategic direction to achieve the transformational change that is so urgently needed.

The Queen's Speech this week included a draft bill to modernise adult care and support in England, setting out what support people could expect from government and what action the government would take to help people plan, prepare and make informed choices about their care. The main benefits of the new Bill include putting people in control of their care and giving them greater choice, building on progress with personal budgets and giving people a better understanding of what is on offer, to help them plan for the future and ensure they know where to go for help when they need it.

The Department of Health is asking people to comment on what should be covered by the cross-government long term conditions strategy. The DH is drafting the strategy at the moment and plan to publish it towards the end of this year. The strategy will be a high level vision, describing how they want to see improvements in the lives of people with long term conditions. It will apply to England only. They would like to hear from people with long term conditions, carers, health professionals, commissioners, local authorities and the voluntary sector. You will be able to comment until 15 June 2012.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has today announced the formation of a new independent expert panel which will contribute to a Government report on the NHS Constitution. The NHS Future Forum Working Group on the NHS Constitution, which met for the first time this week, is made up of medical professionals, patient champions, staff representatives and charities. The Future Forum group will explore whether there is any scope for strengthening the NHS Constitution to support high quality services for patients. A public consultation later this year will give patients and staff the opportunity to have their say about what can be done to improve and reinforce the Constitution.

National Voices this week published a new briefing on the meaning and significance of the Health and Social Care Act's clauses on patient and service user involvement. As the Act becomes law the duties on the NHS Commissioning Board and clinical commissioning groups include that "The Board must, in the exercise of its functions, promote the involvement of patients, and their carers and representatives in decisions which relate to the prevention or diagnosis of illness in the patients, or their care or treatment.

The Welsh Government recognises that for many Welsh speakers, being able to use their own language is likely to be fundamental to their care. For this reason it wants to strengthen Welsh language services within health, social services and social care.More than just words is the Strategic Framework for Welsh Language Services in Health, Social Services and Social Care. The Welsh Assembly is looking for your views on the Framework. The consultation ends on 30 April 2012.

An independent group has been set up by the Government to review the NHS Constitution, with a view to strengthening it. The NHS Future Forum Working Group on the NHS Constitution includes health and social care professionals and representatives of charities, patients' groups, trade unions, and the private sector. A public consultation later this year would give patients and staff the chance to express their views on how to reinforce and improve it. Any amendments would then come into effect by April 2013.

An independent group of experts has been established to help develop a new strategy for improving care for children and young people. The 'Children's and Young People's outcomes strategy' will focus the health service on improving health results for children, including those needing primary, hospital and urgent care, and children with long-term conditions. It will identify health issues that matter most to children and young people, and how a modern NHS will meet their needs. The Children's and Young People's Forum, which is designed on the NHS Future Forum model, will carry out a three-month period of engagement with appropriate stakeholders before submitting its recommendations to the Government later in the year.

Last year the Scottish Government (SG) set out its plans to integrate adult health and social care. The SG intends to replace Community Health Partnerships with Health and Social Care Partnerships. These will be the joint responsibility of the NHS and local authority. This event will give delegates the opportunity to 'influence the agenda'. Speakers from the SG, local authorities, academia, regulators and health will discuss the developing policy agenda, look at evidence from research and inspection, and share existing good practice. The event takes place on 27 February 2012 in Edinburgh.

In a briefing document PiF advisory group member, Ruth Carlyle summarizes the speech given by Andrew Lansley, Secretary of State for Health, at an event at the Royal Society of Public Health to launch the new public health outcomes framework on 23 January 2012. There is also a summary for PiF members on the opportunities and issues that this speech raises for consumer health information.