NHS reforms: have your say

Many of us will have seen and heard a lot in the news recently about the Health and Social Care Bill - a new piece of legislation currently being discussed by MPs, proposing major changes to the NHS in England.

One of the main proposals will see GPs take control of major decisions on what health care their patients need. GP practices will group together to form consortia, which will take on the role of commissioning most health services for their area.

The Government is giving very little guidance on how big these consortia should be and how they should be run. Because Parkinson’s is not very common, we’re worried that smaller consortia might decide not to commission the full range of specialist therapists and nurses necessary for people with Parkinson’s.

We’ve been asking MPs and Ministers to change the Bill so that GP consortia have to work together when they arrange health care for Parkinson’s. We're also working with other neurological charities that will be affected, to tell Government how important it is to make changes to the Bill (PDF).

And we need your help. If you live in England, we want you to email your MP and ask them to write to Andrew Lansley the Secretary of State for Health, supporting these changes.

You can send a message to your MP on our website now.