NEWS
Public honesty ‘crucial’ to cutting obesity levels
Public honesty and personal re- sponsibility make up the central theme of a new strategy designed to cut obesity levels in England. Ministers are stressing the impor- tance of people being truthful about the amounts they eat and drink, re- jecting calls to introduce legislation to change behaviour, such as a ‘fat tax’. Instead of proposing regula- tions, the strategy aims to create
the right environment for individu- als to make healthier choices and intends to help obesity rates to start falling by 2020.
Ministers said the food industry also had a role to play and prom- ised to build on the ‘responsibility deal’ that involves private firms in- troducing calorie counts on menus and reducing salt levels in food.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “We have to halt and then reverse the tide of obesity in this country. Government has a role to play, but it is clear we cannot do this alone.”
But Professor Philip James, of the International
Association for the
Study of Obesity, was one of many experts critical of the strategy.
He called it a “stupid” and “pa- thetic” response to the problem and said legislation was necessary because the junk food industry “manipulated” individuals into con- suming their products.
NHS should pay organ donors’ funeral expenses – report
Organ donors’ funeral expenses should be paid by the NHS to boost the number of organs available for transplant, a report by The Nuffield Council on Bioethics suggests.
Rejecting the notion of an ‘opt- out’ system, Professor Dame Mar- ilyn Strathern, who headed the 18-month investigation, said: “The possibility of sparing relatives the financial burden of a funeral might encourage more people to regis- ter as donors. Paying for the fu- nerals of organ donors would be ethically justified – no harm can come to the donor, and it would
search or for transplant.
Chairman of the BMA’s Medical Ethics Committee, Dr Tony Calland, called it an “interesting idea”, acknowledging that it was categorically different to most ideas for incentivising organ donation, which it generally opposes.
be a form of recognition from so- ciety. We think a pilot scheme to test the public response to the idea is worth trying, alongside other schemes.”
Clinicians’ role undermined – BMA
New Government proposals could give large commercial companies an in-built advantage in commis- sioning, the BMA suggests – lead- ing it to renew its opposition to the entire Health & Social Care Bill.
Guidance from the Department of Health encourages primary care trusts’ successor organisations to partner with the private sector and form social enterprises from 2016.
The BMA is concerned that there will be pressure for these groups to use commercial criteria when choosing the organisations they use for commissioning support, which would result in an imbal- ance of power and could under- mine clinician-led commissioning.
Dr Laurence Buckman (pictured), chairman of the BMA’s GP com- mittee, said: “The Government promised a greater role for clini- cians in its plans to reform the NHS and created CCGs, placing
local GPs and other healthcare professionals in a leading position in the commissioning process. Yet now it seems barriers are being put in place that would undermine the ability of clinicians to take lo- cal decisions.
“This latest guidance gives the commercial
sector an in-built
advantage and appears to be yet another worrying step towards an NHS focused on commercial priorities.”
The BMA is seeking an urgent meeting with ministers to urge reconsideration of the new proposals.
Dr Buckman suggested that
CCGs do need commissioning support, but that there must be flexibility in deciding who can best provide these services.
He continued: “To provide continuity at a time of huge financial pressure and structural overhaul, current PCT clusters should be supported to become viable commissioning support organisations and should not be forced into an unfair competitive process with large, commercial organisations.”
The Government says that clinicians will be freed up under the NHS reforms to take their own decisions and judge for themselves what’s in the best interests of their patients.
Under the proposals, funeral expenses would only be paid if someone on the organ donor reg- ister died in circumstances where their tissues could be used in re-
But he added: “The BMA still believes that one of the best ways to increase organ donation is to move to an opt-out system with safeguards and we will continue to lobby for this.”
New allergy services registration scheme
A new project has been launched to improve the quality of NHS specialist allergy services by a committee of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and the Royal College of Pathologists.
Improving Quality in Allergy Ser- vices is a registration scheme for adult services to ensure they meet quality standards, and will be run by the RCP Accreditation Unit.
Joint committee chairman Professor Andy Wardlaw said: “It will be a tool for use in revalidation, helpful for commissioners and patients in provision of high quality allergy services in their area and a lever to improve the range and quality of services over time.
“We strongly urge all those providing allergy services to register with the scheme as soon as possible.”
national health executive Sep/Oct 11 | 9
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