Councils could be caught in reform battle warns Healey

摘要

Fears are growing that councils could end up being caught in battles between fund-holding GPs and local hospitals, if the Government's health reforms go ahead. Health experts questioned whether key parts of the Health and Social Care Bill could work, given the huge changes and spending cuts. When GPs take over the role of PCTs, they will be able to decide which hospitals get their business. One expert warned that hospitals which either could not compete on price or were deemed to be poor-performers would have to close. Monitor, one of the health regulators, is the auditor for hospitals, but it would be unable to resolve the issue of closures.