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One in five trusts clear about the future of the health system

One in five trusts clear about the future of the health system
By vfiore
10 April 2018



One in five NHS trusts are clear about how the health and care system will evolve in regards to regulation, an NHS Providers survey of 86 trusts has found.

 

The survey, published yesterday (9 March) revealed that despite great emphasis is placed on integrated care for patients, uncertainty looms around what regulatory changes this could bring.

 

One in five NHS trusts are clear about how the health and care system will evolve in regards to regulation, an NHS Providers survey of 86 trusts has found.

 

The survey, published yesterday (9 March) revealed that despite great emphasis is placed on integrated care for patients, uncertainty looms around what regulatory changes this could bring.

 

Head of policy at NHS Providers Amber Jabbal said: ‘Many feel that the regulatory environment in which they operate is not keeping up with this pace of change.’

 

Regulatory burden

 

Lack of clarity on how local services will be regulated could cause replicates of regulatory activity, adding extra pressure on trusts, said NHS Providers.

 

They said that while both the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and NHS Improvement took steps to work collaboratively, trusts have not yet seen the results of this collaboration.

 

Almost two thirds (62%) of respondents raised concerns on the regulators changes introduced last year, which they fear will not reduce their administrative burdens, and 67% said they experienced an increase in the level of regulatory burden.  

 

Commenting on the findings, Amber Jabbal said: ‘At a time when trusts are under tremendous pressure to meet ambitious financial targets, address workforce challenges and meet rising demand, it is disappointing to see the burden and the number of ad-hoc requests from regulators increase again.

 

Shared optimism on new regulatory approaches

 

Trust shared optimism for the new approaches recently introduced by the regulatory bodies.

 

The survey found that the majority of respondents (81%) 'fully' or 'partially agreed' that the CQC inspection approach, published in its 2016-21 strategy.

 

Respondents also shared positive comments on how NHS Improvement is using the Single Oversight Framework (SOF), although NHS Providers said that ‘providers consider the SOF as more of a performance management tool than a support tool. This view was more commonly held by acute providers compared to non-acute providers.’

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