Health and Social Care Act 2012

The Government’s plans to reform the NHS in England through the Health and Social Care Act have huge implications for the NHS and the nursing workforce.

This page brings together a number of briefings and resources on the act, which go some way to explain these changes and what you, as an RCN member working in the NHS, might expect to see happening in your workplace and locality.

The Government, despite strong opposition from major organisations including the RCN, succeeded in passing the bill and it received Royal Assent to become an act in April 2012. Now that the Health and Social Care Bill has achieved Royal Assent, the RCN will work with the Government and Department of Health to assist implementation of the reforms.

This should not be confused as support for the act. The RCN voiced strong opposition to the act as it passed through Parliament and in January called for the reforms to be scrapped.

What does the Health and Social Care Act mean?

We have produced three short films to give you some of the key information about the Health and Social Care Act and what it may mean for you, the NHS, and the services that you deliver.

The films are presented by Howard Catton, RCN Head of Policy and International, Josie Irwin, RCN Head of Employment Relations, and Rebecca Cheatle, RCN Primary Care Adviser.

NHS reforms Howard Catton

NHS reforms; what the changes mean for youJosie Irwin

Nurses and Clinical Commissioning GroupsRebecca Cheatle

The RCN has produced a briefing document (PDF 288KB) [see how to access PDF files] explaining what the Health and Social Care Act means.

There are further, more in depth briefings on some specific sections of the reforms on the RCN Navigating the NHS page.

Parliamentary briefings

Throughout the passage of the bill the RCN issued briefings to all parliamentarians at every stage of the legislative process detailing the RCN’s concerns with the proposals. You can view those briefings on the Health and Social Care Bill page.

Contact us

The RCN is well aware that many members may have concerns about how their jobs, places of work and the services they provide may be affected by these reforms so if you have any further questions or queries directly related to the reforms please feel free to contact the RCN Parliamentary Team via email on parliamentaryteam@rcn.org.uk

If you are aware of the reforms having an adverse effect upon the services that you provide, or are aware of cuts being made to services or the NHS workforce, then please visit RCN Frontline First, our dedicated campaign website, and tell us about it in full confidence. Sharing this information helps us to present the true picture of the effect of the reforms to the public and to parliament.

If you are an RCN member, have been personally affected and require support then contact RCN Direct on 0345 772 6100.