RCN responds to new regulations on competition

Published: 12 March 2013

Competition must not become a barrier to collaboration and integration in the NHS, the Royal College of Nursing has said.

The comments were made in response to the new Section 75 regulations laid in Parliament to clarify the role of competition in the health service.

Dr Peter Carter, RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary, said the RCN is pleased to see that the Government has listened to, and acted on, the widespread concerns over these regulations.

“It is extremely important that clinical commissioning groups must be confident that they are able to make decisions based on quality of care and local needs without being forced into tendering processes,” he added.

The RCN is calling on Monitor and the NHS Commissioning Board to issue guidance on these regulations as quickly as possible to ensure that competition is only used to further enhance integrated and quality care.