Library image of stethoscope A WIRRAL MP has urged health secretary Matt Hancock to give a cast-iron guarantee that he will legislate to ensure that NHS patient data cannot be used to promote or sell private health insurance or services to patients . Margaret Greenwood s plea comes after the Government released its new White Paper – Integration and innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all – which sets out ministers’ plans for the future of health and social care. The plans would put Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), which are partnerships between the organisations that meet health and care needs across an area, on a statutory footing. ICSs can include NHS organisations, local councils and other partners’ – leading to concerns that there is nothing to rule out private companies playing a large part in the delivery of healthcare locally, thus undermining the NHS.
LGA responds to white paper plans to radically reform the NHS
Council leaders have warned that local government needs to be an equal partner in the design of any national oversight of social care as the Government sets out its white paper plans to overhaul the NHS.
The Government has said the white paper contains proposals to build on the ‘successful NHS response to the pandemic’, with health secretary Matt Hancock saying they would cure the NHS of red tape.
Chair of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Community Wellbeing Board Cllr Ian Hudspeth said councils understood the Government’s desire for greater transparency in social care, ‘but councils need to be an equal partner in the design of any national oversight’.
Staff at Homlands Medical Centre have been working hard on Wirral s Covid vaccination programme Merseyside and Cheshire is continuing to make rapid Coronavirus vaccination progress, with over 80% of residents aged 80 or above having now received their fist jab. Latest figures published by NHS England show that up to January 24, a total of 292,278 first dose jabs were delivered across the two counties, plus a further 27,828 quantities of the second booster dose. This means that over 320,000 jabs have been administered in total across Merseyside and Cheshire since December 8, 2020 - and area that has an estimated population of 2,040,921. Patients include 100-year-old Irene Atkinson from Prenton, who received her first jab at home on January 21, thanks to staff from Holmlands Medical Centre.