Health and Social Care - Parliamentary Round Up - March 2011

Column by Ros Trinick which appeared in the March edition of the English Community Care Association (ECCA) member's newsletter

Reforming the NHS has been emphasised as a key priority for the Coalition and last month it moved the process one step further with the publication of the Health and Social Care Bill.

Ministers hope the measures set out in the bill will revolutionise, modernise and reform the NHS, placing patients at the heart of everything it does, reducing bureaucracy and increasing accountability. Indeed modernisation, was described by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley as a necessity not an option. Mr Lansley also stressed that the NHS must embrace competition from the private sector if it is to meet the future needs of the public.

Speaking at the Maximising Quality, Minimising Cost conference, Mr Lansley reiterated the Coalition Government’s desire to modernise the NHS, adding that it would spark what he described as ‘a race for quality, for excellence and efficiency.’

With cuts the order of the economic day, the Department of Health has bucked the trend in recent weeks with a number of multi-million pound investment announcements.
First up was the promise of £20 million to bolster trauma and microbiology research. The money is set to bring together both military and civilian trauma surgeons to share medical experience.

The department’s attention then turned to raising awareness of cancer and, as January gave way to February, Care Services Minister, Paul Burstow unveiled the first ever Government bowel cancer awareness campaign. ‘Be Clear on Cancer’, is set to be piloted in two regions before being rolled out across the country if successful.

Investment continued in February with Andrew Lansley teaming up with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Paul Burstow to pledge £400 million to help tackle the underlying causes of mental ill-health as part of the No health without mental health strategy. Nick Clegg emphasised the need to address mental health with the same urgency as physical health, insisting that the stigma attached to mental illness must be tackled.

Later in the month the announcement of the Health Visitors Implementation Plan set out plans to increase the number of Health Visitors to 4,200 by 2015. In addition to rejuvenating the system as a whole Health Minister, Anne Milton insisted that the increase in Health Visitors will give vital additional support.

The Department of Health also published ‘Enabling Excellence’ a new set of guidelines for regulating the activities of health and social care workers. Speaking at the launch, Andrew Lansley insisted that the new guidelines would serve to give greater independence to those working in the sector across the country.

And, finally Monitor, the independent regulators of Foundation Trusts, appointed David Bennett as a new chair. Mr Bennett has been interim chair for the last year and will lead the organisation as it moves to take on a new and expanded role.

So, having seen the government set out its stall to reform the NHS with the Health and Social Care Bill, it will be interesting to see what affect their proposals will have. Elsewhere the pledging of £400 million to tackle mental health issues and £20 million to bolster research in microbiology are very welcome developments in this time of austerity.

An unforgettable visit to HEAL

For five days in January 2011, my friend Gabriella Wass and I had the privilege of visiting the HEAL Children’s Village in Andhra Pradesh and meeting some of the inspirational visionaries and volunteers who have made the project what it is today.

Having worked over previous months with my colleagues at PLMR to support HEAL UK gain local Peterborough press coverage for its latest fundraising efforts and to launch the new Paradise Village initiative, I was very excited about seeing it all in action. Gabriella, having recently completed a Masters Degree in Human Rights at the University of London, was also keen to visit the project – sharing a deep passion for supporting projects that improve the health and education of children from deprived backgrounds abroad.

From the moment we arrived we were struck by HEAL’s caring and loving atmosphere, and

howwelcoming and happy all the children and staff were to see us. Throughout our visit, Gabbi and I were continually overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of our hosts – an ethos which clearly emanates from the core of HEAL’s approach as an entirely volunteer-run charity.The first activity that we had the pleasure of experiencing was an aerobics and dance session, led by Ann Garrett, HEAL UK’s Sponsorship Secretary. Alongside 200 beautifully dressed women in sarees, who had come to

HEAL from surrounding local villages to learn grassroots skills to take back to their communities (including maternal and infant healthcare, hygiene and basic education), we all embarrassed ourselves doing squats and star-jumps in time to the music – causing much amusement. The class soon turned into a massive dance session with all the children, who energetically taught us a few traditional and Bollywood-style dance moves – skills that we could never pull off with quite so much style!

Over the next few days, between more dance classes and being fed absolutely delicious South Indian food, Gabbi and I also managed to spend time singing and playing with the children, visiting the local town and going on a tour of some beautiful Hindu and Buddhist temples and shrines in the region. We were delighted to meet so many members of the HEAL team during our stay, including CEO Mrs Laxmi Tatineni, HEAL India Sponsorship Secretary Mrs O Vijayalaxmi, Mr Dhana Prakash, Managing Director of Model Dairy and major benefactor of the new Paradise Village, and Varma, on-site HEAL coordinator. Everyone was endlessly generous and hospitable – we ran out of ways to say thank you.

One memory that will always stay with us was the experience of watching Dr N Manga Devi, General Secretary and HEAL visionary, reading a bedtime story one evening to 15 absolutely captivated children. Her compassionate approach was deeply inspiring and a wider reflection of the loving environment that the HEAL children are surrounded by every day, and which they clearly absorb. Never was this more apparent than at the moment of our leaving, when many of the young girls tried to give us the little jewellery they owned. We were so moved by their generosity and made to feel very hopeful for their futures, which, through the atmosphere HEAL has created, will certainly be bright.

Gabbi and I are excited about jointly sponsoring a ‘Poverty Trap’ child through their education over the coming months and years.