Clause 12 - Further functions of the Commission for Health Improvement
NHS Reform & Health Care Professions
11:45 am
Dr Andrew Murrison (Westbury, Conservative)
I wish to return to the BMA's reasoned comments on the clause. Its position on the clauses that we have discussed so far has been extremely thoughtful and generally supportive. However, the BMA is concerned about the provisions in clause 12 for multiple inspections.
From my experience as an inspector and inspectee, I know that inspections are hugely disruptive and take one's eye off the ball when it comes to what the job is all about; treating patients. The BMA draws a nice analogy between inspectors in the health sector and the men who dig up the road. An effort is being made to ensure that gas men, electricity men and plumbers dig up the road at the same time. That is because nothing is more irritating than having one's road dug up by one lot of men one week, another lot the next week and yet another lot the week after. If we can amalgamate the regulators, there is likely to be far less disruption to health care. I am sure that we would all want that.
GPs in particular are subject to a vast panoply of regulation and inspection from their royal colleges and, potentially, patients forums. They are also subject to additional regulation and inspection because they run what are, in effect, small businesses. GPs to whom
I speak in my constituency are heartily fed up with that. They are worried that inspection is, paradoxically, detracting from patient care.
I should like to return briefly to the notion of total quality.