FSRH submits evidence to the Sustainability and Transformation in the NHS inquiry

Upon assessing evidence that the NHS is still struggling to manage demand within its budget, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee launched an inquiry into the sustainability of the NHS. FSRH has drawn to the Committee’s attention the growing mismatch between demand for SRH services and the capacity of the NHS to meet them.

In our response, we make a strong and well-evidenced case that SRH services are at a turning point. FSRH has contributed to this essential discussion by re-asserting the central place that SRH should have in the NHS, with funding decisions taken accordingly.

In 2016 the Faculty submitted a response to a Call for Evidence from the Select Committee on the Long-term Sustainability of the NHS. In our 2018 submission to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), we have referred the Committee to the same response and referenced a number of recent reports which indicate that, to ensure a sustainable NHS where SRH provision is equally available to all, a number of recommendations must be followed.

Key recommendations include a focus on:

• Funding models based on prevention, not only demand
• The need for a system where Public Health is not reliant on funding from business rates retention, receiving instead adequate ring-fenced funding from Government
• High-quality training, which as ever is a necessity for healthcare practitioners within SRH services and beyond

In addition, FSRH has reaffirmed its strong support for statutory Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), also maintaining support for Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education to be made statutory and for both RSE and PHSE to receive substantial investment.

You can download our submission below and access our response published by the Committee here.