Briefings produced by the RCM - please click on the relevant link below to download

• The Royal College of Midwives and the Health and Social Care Bill  - January 2012

On Wednesday 18th January, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) called upon the Government to scrap the Health and Social Care Bill. 

This briefing provides a summary of the RCM’s position in relation to the Bill, including:

• The ways in which the College has tried to engage with the Government and to influence the legislation.

• The RCM’s main concerns about the Government’s proposals for reforming the NHS.

• The reasons why the RCM has now concluded that the best thing for the NHS is for the Bill to be scrapped and replaced with a stability plan for the NHS.

• The NHS Future Forum: Summary of reports on second phase recommendations on improvements to healthcare

This briefing provides a summary of the reports produced by the NHS Future Forum for the second phase of its work on making recommendations for the improvement of healthcare in England.

The Future Forum reported to the Government on Monday 9th January 2012 and the Government has now accepted all the recommendations relating to actions that the Government can take. Unlike the first phase of the Future Forum’s work, when their recommendations were specifically focused on improving the Health and Social Care Bill, the recommendations in these reports are directed at a range of stakeholders, including statutory bodies and royal colleges, as well as the Government. 

This briefing summarises the five reports from the Future Forum, which address the following elements of the Government’s proposed reforms of the NHS:

• Summary report

• Information

• Integration

• Education and training

• Public health

• Quality indicators for maternity services in England: an update

This briefing paper provides an update of recent initiatives relating to the development of quality indicators for healthcare services in England. For more information please contact Sean O’Sullivan, RCM Senior Policy Analyst, 020 7312 3566

In December 2010 the Government published the following documents relating to its reform programme and the management of the NHS in England:

•  Liberating the NHS: Legislative framework and next steps. Read the RCM's abridged version of  Next Steps here.

• The Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2011/12 Read the RCMs abridged version Operating Framework here.