Removing the cap on private income for foundation trusts would release those in mental health to be more innovative and entrepreneurial, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists said it supported most of the government’s NHS reform proposals, especially those relating to regulation, in its response to the consultation on the government’s health white paper.
In its response to the “regulating healthcare providers” part of the consultation, the college agreed the current cap on private income for foundation trusts should be removed.
The cap “limits the scope for mental health foundation trusts to be innovative, entrepreneurial, and address breadth and quality of care in partnerships with others”, the college said.
It also said mental health foundation trusts would benefit from the increased freedom of being able to change their constitution without the consent of Monitor.
The college is in support of the transparency and outcomes framework elements of the white paper, but raised a concern about the use of “mortality amenable to healthcare” as the overarching outcomes indicator. This measure refers to the proportion of patients with treatable conditions who die.
It said: “While appropriate on a population-wide level, this overarching outcome indicator will do little to address the substantial premature mortality of vulnerable groups with severe mental illness.”
The college also said it broadly supports the white papers plans to increase local democratic legitimacy and supports the creation of statutory health and wellbeing boards.
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