The House of Commons Library has produced a new briefing paper about the NHS in England. The paper summarises the changes brought in by the Health and Social and Social Care Act 2012 and also highlights selected ongoing policy issues.
The structure of the NHS is considered under six general headings:
• commissioning
• access to treatment
• regulation and accountability
• competition
• public health
• Health and Wellbeing Boards.
A very brief survey of policy issues identifies
• funding
• 7 day working
• patient safety
• service integration,
as being areas of particular concern for the current Parliament.
The guide concludes with a very brief overview of how the NHS operates in the rest of the UK. Overall, it delivers a useful summary of the current situation and includes numerous links to additional documents for those who require greater detail.
The structure of the NHS in England, Briefing Paper CBP 07206 is available here.
