With its target for reaching net carbon zero for emissions it controls directly by 2040, and emissions it can influence by 2045, the NHS became the first health system in the world to make such a commitment. While the target date may seem a way off yet, of necessity given the ambition required to reach it, steps are already in train to do so. Signalling action at a local level, during the flagship NHS Confederation conference on 16 June, NHS Chief Sustainability Officer Dr Nick Watts was able to announce that all 212 English NHS Trusts have now completed their net zero strategies, or ‘green plan’, a milestone on the roadmap to net zero.

Welcome to our new quarterly newsletter with essential reading for the social care sector. 

On 14 July, the Consultation closed on the draft Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) Code of Practice. If, like us, you have spent the last few months digesting all 518 pages of the draft code (not to mention the Regulations, impact assessment and training framework documents) before submitting your response, you could be forgiven for thinking you deserve a break.

Our summer newsletter arrives off the back of one of the hottest weeks we’ve experienced in recent years in the UK and disruption to much of our travel infrastructure. Nevertheless, things remain busy and it’s timely that we provide you with news on developments in the law related to life sciences that may apply to your business.

This interview with Jack Delaney, a legal director in Hill Dickinson's London office, originally appeared as a news piece on PSYCH’s website on the 20th July 2022, and is reproduced in full below with kind permission of the organisation. The full interview is available by following the link at the bottom of the page to PSYCH’s website.

New ‘Who Pays?’ Guidance (‘the Guidance’) has been published in draft form in readiness for the changes under the Health and Care Act 2022 when Integrated Care Boards (‘ICBs’) will be established and take over the functions previously held by CCGs with effect from 1 July 2022. The new guidance is to replace the previous version of the ‘Who Pays?’ published in 2020. The draft guidance has been published at this stage in recognition that the NHS needs to know what rules are likely to apply in advance of 1 July. 

Welcome to the latest edition of our Independent Health Sector update. The market remains active with significant changes on the horizon as the Health and Care Act comes into force on 1 July. We also have a number of events coming up and look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible – whether remotely or in person. 

Within the NHS some key recent news is that the Health and Care Bill is now an Act signalling full steam ahead to 1 July 2022 when many elements of NHS structural reforms, including the dissolution of more than 100 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and formation of 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs)...

The draft Code of Practice for the Liberty Protection Safeguards – to replace the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) - is now out for consultation until 7 July 2022. There will be lots to read and digest, but here are some first thoughts:

Linked to and enabled by NHS reforms contained within the Health and Care Act 2022, the government plans to replace current rules for procurement of healthcare services with a new ‘provider selection regime’ later this year. While consultations have been under way on the new regime for some time, the most recent development in this area is the release of a new consultation by the Department of Health and Social Care considering some of the detail of the regulations underpinning the new regime.

With the Health and Care Act on the statute books including key provisions relating to the dissolution of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and establishment of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts are continuing their preparations for operating in the ‘new’ world in which, according to the Integrated Care System (ICS) Design Framework, providers will ‘increasingly be judged against their contribution to the objectives of the ICS’. While providers may not be subject to such obvious upheaval as CCGs, there are many factors to consider which require thought and planning. Some of these, such as input into the establishment and operation of the ICB/Integrated Care Partnership (ICP), involve entirely new concepts, whilst others, including the development of more extensive provider collaboratives and contribution at Place, will be more familiar. Here we consider five key areas which will no doubt be occupying NHS providers in the run up to the expected July 2022 in force date, and beyond. 

On 31 March 2022 the Mental Health Units (Use of force) Act 2018 (‘Seni’s Law’) came into force. The Act is the culmination of many years’ campaigning following the death of Seni Lewis, an IT graduate who died aged 23 after being restrained on a mental health unit by 11 police officers. At the inquest into his death, the jury found Seni died as a result of excessive, disproportionate and unreasonable restraint and force.