Health and Social Care Act 2012
House of Lords
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench)
To ask Her Majesty's Government, under the provisions of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, what recourse secondary care providers will have in circumstances where they have evidence that a commissioning decision is adversely affecting patient diagnosis or care.
Earl Howe (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Quality), Health; Conservative)
There is no general provision under the Health and Social Care Act for providers to object to the decisions commissioners make concerning the services they commission for their patient population.
Section 75 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 provides for the Secretary of State to make regulations on requirements for commissioners to adhere to good practice in the procurement of healthcare services. The onus will be on commissioners to act transparently and to be able to demonstrate the rationale for their decisions in terms of patient benefits.
A provider could make a complaint to Monitor where it considered that a commissioner had acted in breach of the regulations and the commissioner may be required to justify its decisions.
Draft policy proposals for these regulations will be published for public consultation later this summer.