NHS Care Hampered By Red Tape, Warn Doctors

The British Medical Association has warned that relentless change in the NHS is making it impossible for doctors to make improvements in care.

A survey found around two thirds – 65% – of medics feel less empowered because of red tape and inadequate staffing levels.

Ministers claimed the Health and Social Care Act would put doctors in the driving seat but only two months after its implementation, the poll reveals disquiet about its effects.

Many doctors questioned by the BMA said they felt “hindered” from making improvements in patient services because of the new rules.

Of the 1,000 doctors surveyed, some 81% described pressure at work as “high” and GPs were the group reporting the highest level of pressure.

The figures were released at the start of the BMA’s annual conference in Edinburgh, where senior doctors are expected to call for patients to pay for some services.

They will demand that a list of “core” services is drawn up to tell patients what they can and cannot expect from the health service, according to The Times.

Dr Mark Porter, chair of council at the BMA, said: “It is a grave cause for concern that those who wanted to make improvements to patient services feel there are barriers prohibiting that.

“It is particularly worrying that the pressures so many doctors are experiencing on a daily basis appear to be getting worse.

“The Government wants to give doctors more control so they can work effectively for their patients, yet they often find this impossible in the face of an unprecedented funding squeeze, inadequate staffing levels and rising patient demand.”

Dr Porter warned ministers not to blame parts of the NHS and to work more with staff to resolve the current problems.

“Doctors should be encouraged and supported, not burnt out and drowning in red tape,” he said.

“If the NHS is to survive another 65 years there must be a clear recognition that we are reaching boiling point with patient demand.”

His comments come after a row over an A&E crisis, which the Government has partly blamed on GPs failing to do enough out-of-hours work.

Health minister Dr Dan Poulter said: “Doctors are working extremely hard and continue to provide a high quality of care in the face of rising healthcare demands.”

He defended the coalition’s health policies, pointing out that it had invested in 6,000 more doctors, £140m in new technology and training and given Health Education England a £5bn budget.

The NHS is ring-fenced from the Government’s drastic cuts, with the coalition committed to delivering a real terms increase in health spending.

Source Sky News