British Medical Association - Current Role in The Reform of The NHS

Current Role in The Reform of The NHS

The BMA continued to play an ongoing role in the reform of the NHS by contributing to a number of reports since the founding of the NHS. The Royal Commission on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (1956) had important implications for general practitioners' pay, and was followed by a second inquiry – The Medical Services Review Committee. The report from this committee, known as the Porritt report was published in 1962 and included important recommendations for reforming the NHS administration, in particular the formation of area health boards. The third committee on General Practice was set up in 1961 under Annis Gillie and was charged with examining the future of General Practice. Its report was published in 1963. In 1965 the BMA published its General Medical Services Committee paper "A Charter for the Family Doctor Service".

The BMA continued to actively contribute to public health issues. The BMA's "Policy in Relation to Smoking" was published in 1971. In response to the perceived threat of nuclear war in the early 1980s, the Association reported on the possible medical and environmental effects of global conflict. The BMA’s first statement on AIDS was published in 1985 following the worldwide spread of the disease.

In 1989 the Association rejected Kenneth Clarke's reforms of the NHS based on internal market. Led by its chairman John Marks it mounted a public relations campaign involving newspaper advertising, a poster campaign, the issue of 11 million pamphlets for distribution by general practitioners, and radio and television broadcasts which were critical of the government's proposal. Clarke later conceded that the Association won the public relations exercise. The government's legislation creating the internal market was implemented through the 1990 National Health Service and Community Care Act.

In 1992, the genetic engineering working party culminated in the publication "Our Genetic Future", which considered the scientific and ethical implications of genetic engineering.

By the late 1980s, the BMA continued to negotiate contracts on behalf of doctors, some of them controversial. It has voiced concerns over the impact of European Union directives on the profession, devolution in the UK, new technological sources for medical advice, and many other aspects of issues affecting patients and the working lives of doctors.