April Fools Day is also D-Day for the NHS, UNISON warned today.
Key aspects of the controversial Health and Social Care Bill come into force today, including the new commissioning structures that were bitterly opposed by UNISON.
“Today we will begin to see what all these changes mean for patients and staff, and the impact the act will have on communities across the country,” said UNISON head of health Christina McAnea.
“We continue to fear the worst, which is the fragmentation of the service and, effectively, the end of the NHS as we know it.”
The government’s shake-up of the NHS has already resulted in thousands of redundancies, as well as an exodus of experienced and skilled staff from the service.
The introduction of a new commissioning structure, with primary care trusts being replaced by more than 200 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and other bodies, represents one of the largest reforms of its type ever undertaken by government.
“The recent Francis report pointed to the dangerous and destabilising effect of financially driven organisational change,” continued Ms McAnea. “We will be working to influence the new system and to make sure that the people that use and work in the NHS have a strong voice in decisions about its future.
“We will be watching closely to make sure that the NHS continues to be a service open to all that is based on need rather than ability to pay.”
She added that UNISON, which fought a tough campaign against the bill, would protect NHS staff and patients alike.”
