21.02.12
Push and pull
New research on the effects of competition is set to further muddy the waters of the arguments for and against NHS reforms.
Those pushing for will jump on the most basic conclusion; competition is good. Competition improves care and cuts costs and therefore we must increase it within the NHS.
Those against will attempt to call attention to the caveat to this result; competition must be regulated and can have negative consequences when private companies have the freedom to choose which patients they will choose in a way that NHS hospitals cannot. Introducing competition between the NHS and private healthcare firms will lead to a disproportional split between straightforward cases and the rest.
This represents the slippery slope, with those opposed to privatisation condemning all competition for fear of what it could lead to. There needs to be a balance between these two extremes, and if there is an equal pull in both directions, this could be achieved.
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