Thousands of
frontline NHS staff are taking control of the services they
deliver in a drive to transform patient care and improve health
outcomes, Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley announced today.
Thirty-two projects will form the third wave of NHS organisations
that want to set up social enterprises, through the NHS
'Right to Request' scheme that gives public
sector workers the opportunity to become their own bosses.
Unveiling the third wave proposals today, Health Secretary Andrew
Lansley also announced an additional £4.4million will be made
available through the Department's Social Enterprise
Investment Fund. This money will support the successful Right to
Request schemes and encourage others who wish to become social enterprises.
By becoming social enterprises, clinical staff gain the
freedom to make their own decisions about the services they
deliver locally, allowing them to be more responsive to their
patients' needs.
Today's announcement of the third wave of proposals
means that, since it was set up in 2008, 'Right to
Request' has generated a total of 61 innovative proposals
from staff to take over the services they provide.
These proposals will transfer an estimated £900m of services and
almost 25,000 NHS staff into the social enterprise sector.
The proposals in this third and final wave span nine of the 10
Strategic Health Authorities and include services like primary
care access for the vulnerable and homeless, sexual health
services, and support for bereaved children and families.
Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley said:
"I am encouraged by the enthusiasm with which NHS
frontline staff have embraced the 'Right to
Request' scheme. This represents a major milestone in the
delivery of the White Paper commitment to create the largest and
most vibrant social enterprise sector in the world. We want to
empower millions of public sector workers to become their own boss
and help them to deliver better services.
"This is about a fundamental power shift, taking power
from Whitehall and placing it in the hands of frontline staff who
know best the needs of their communities. This is what the Big
Society is all about."
Care Services Minister Paul Burstow said:
"By becoming their own bosses staff are free to exercise
their clinical leadership and entrepreneurial skills. Instead of
being frustrated by red-tape they can react in real time to unmet
local needs, not just improving health outcomes but contributing
to the wider regeneration of the communities they serve.
"And because social enterprises share the same public
ethos as the NHS, all surplus is reinvested back into the
communities they serve meaning the most efficient use of public
funds."
Chief Executive of the Social Enterprise Coalition Peter Holbrook
said:
"It is incredibly encouraging that so many organisations
will soon be operating as social enterprises as a result of the
Right to Request scheme, transforming the way that health services
are delivered to local communities in England.
"Owned by staff and patients, these social enterprises
will have the autonomy to deliver services that truly meet the
needs of their local populations, and bureaucracy will be replaced
by an ability to be flexible and responsive - the end result being
quality local services for patients.
"For the broader social enterprise movement this is a
significant milestone, and clearly demonstrates the positive role
that social enterprises can play in a sector as vital as
healthcare to our society."
Notes to editors
For further information contact the Department of Health press
office on: 020 7210 5329
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley will today (16 November) speak at
the Guardian Social Enterprise Summit in Central London to launch
the third wave of 'Right to Request'.
A social enterprise is a business where surpluses are principally
reinvested in the business or in the community rather than
deriving profits for shareholders. There are approximately 62,000
working across all sectors in the UK and in excess of 6,000
provide health and social care services.
Through the NHS 'Right to Request' scheme,
primary care trusts were obliged to consider requests from staff
wishing to set up a social enterprise. The first two waves of
'Right to Request' projects include a range of
services that vary in value from about £315,000 to £50 million and
the number of staff involved in each project ranges from five to
1,200. There are currently 29 Right to Request schemes running.
Funding and support for people considering pursuing social
enterprise is available through the Department of
Health's Social Enterprise Investment Fund (SEIF). The
additional £4.4m of revenue announced today will help support the
'Right to Request' proposals come to fruition
and encourage others who would like to spin out health and social
care services into a social enterprise.
The SEIF is managed on the Department of Health's behalf
by The Social Investment Business in partnership with Local
Partnerships. More information about the SEIF can be found at http://www.thesocialinvestmentbusiness.org/our-funds/social-enterprise-investment-fund/
The third wave projects include a variety of services offered by
PCTs in Nottingham, Great Yarmouth and Waveney, Hertfordshire,
Luton, Suffolk, Croydon, Hillingdon, Newham, Tower Hamlets,
Oldham, Salford, Bolton, Sefton, Liverpool, Buckinghamshire, Isle
of Wight, Surrey, Bath and North East Somerset, Cornwall &
Isles of Scilly, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Plymouth,
Torbay, Dudley, Bradford, Kirklees, Sheffield and Barnsley.
This Right to Request scheme has now closed for applications
in line with the requirement that PCTs must separate commissioning
and provision of community services by April 2011.
More information about the social enterprise programme can be
found at www.dh.gov.uk/socialenterprise.
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk