Plans to let NHS bill employers delayed

Plans to allow the NHS to charge employers for the health and
social care provided to workers hurt in accidents have been
delayed.

In a parliamentary answer last week, Department of Trade and
Industry minister Nigel Griffiths said provisions within the Health
and Social Care Bill on cost recovery would not be implemented
until the government’s work on employer liability compulsory
insurance (Elci) had been completed in the autumn.

It is feared the proposals could have a major impact on Elci and
care home providers which need it to trade. Under the plans,
hospitals and other NHS organisations could recoup the cost of
providing care for individuals injured at work if their employers
were proved culpable.

Last week, a government report warned providers, many of whose
premiums have more than doubled in the past year, to expect further
increases in Elci over the next 12 months (news, page 10, 12 June).

Liberal Democrats’ trade and industry officer Mike Walker said if
the proposal was implemented it would probably drive up insurance
premiums. “There are issues around a possible cap [on charges] and
what the expense will be to businesses for buying Elci which would
cover this,” he said.