I wrote to members last week on the morning the result of UK General Election was known. Now that the dust is beginning to settle and the new Labour Government has revealed more about its intentions, I am writing to let you know about our College plans and priorities in response to the political changes which are afoot.
Our priorities for influencing
As I mentioned last week, the Labour manifesto included a bold ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children in our history with a strong focus on early intervention and prevention. This is clearly very welcome and aligns with our ambition. The College is well placed to offer our expert advice on how the Government can make these commitments a reality.
We also want the new government to take bold action on child poverty and health inequalities, mental health and, given the impact on children鈥檚 health, air pollution. We will continue to put forward evidence-based solutions for them to consider in order to tackle these issues affecting our patients. We鈥檒l be closely watching the King鈥檚 Speech later this month (17 July) to monitor the legislation announcements on these issues. In particular, we hope to see announcements on smoking and banning disposable vapes.
Turning around waiting lists, shifting care to the community and reforming primary care are priorities the government has for all ages. These present opportunities for us to push for our two key priorities: strengthened child health services and greater support for the workforce. The College will soon be publishing a blueprint for England on child health services for the future, which we look forward to sharing with you.
You might also have seen the announcement from the Health Secretary on 11 July of an independent review led by Professor Lord Ara Darzi on NHS productivity. The aim of the review is to outline how to 鈥渇ix a broken NHS鈥: a diagnostic piece of work. From this the government will put together a ten-year plan using the evidence it outlines. Lord Darzi has said he will be openly engaging with the public and stakeholders 鈥 and we will certainly be taking this opportunity once more information is available. You can see my full response to this review.
Separately, I also note the Labour Government's immediate attention on negotiating with the BMA (British Medical Association). While we at RCPCH do not have a role in the terms and conditions of contracts, we continue to call for support for the NHS in terms of staffing retention, wellbeing and support.
The NHS long term workforce plan remains relevant to this. We will also continue to call for a better reflection of child health need and updated modelling in the workforce plan, so it can also be reflected in our workforce. We will highlight the importance of workforce during our interactions with Lord Darzi鈥檚 review.
Working in coalition
We鈥檝e always worked closely with other organisations on shared influencing priorities. This won鈥檛 change and we鈥檝e supported several letters to ministers and MPs on priorities including creating a smoke-free generation, calling for action on child poverty, banning disposable vapes and the need for a single unique identifier for children.
We will also be taking forward our campaign on equal protection, which calls for the protection from physical punishment for all children in England and Northern Ireland, in line with Scotland and Wales, and which was paused as result of the election.
Key appointees
A key question will be who exactly we鈥檒l be working with to get policies implemented.
For us, the most directly relevant senior roles are Wes Streeting MP as Health and Social Care Secretary, Bridget Phillipson MP as Education Secretary and Steve Reed MP as Environment Secretary. We鈥檝e written to all of them highlighting our policy priorities relevant to their roles.
We鈥檙e also reaching out to the Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh Secretaries to highlight need across the devolved nations, including for better resourcing. We are closely monitoring what is meant by the announcement on 9 July for a new Council of Regions and Nations and how it will impact our work.
The College works with MPs across the political spectrum and will also be writing to the main opposition parties. So far, the Conservatives have retained Victoria Atkins as Shadow Health Secretary and we await to hear the shadow roles in other parties.
How we are engaging MPs
The College works with representatives of all parties equally. Next week, in view of the King鈥檚 Speech, we will be writing to all MPs asking them to prioritise child health and the NHS workforce while in the UK Parliament.
You might be wondering how we plan to engage all 650 MPs. Hopefully with your help! We will set up an e-action from 19 July that will enable you to email your own MP directly. It is important that your MP hears from their constituents about why they need to raise their voice on your behalf.
Many thanks to everyone who has engaged with the College鈥檚 influencing work so far, and I look forward to working with you all again.