20.10.14
Government contemplates sale of NHS Professionals
The government is exploring the idea of selling off NHS Professionals, it is reported.
In a move likely to revive accusations of creeping privatisation, the Department of Health has appointed accountancy firm Deloitte to review options for the state-owned staffing agency.
A formal decision for the organisation has not yet been taken. NHS Professionals has roughly 40,000 nurses, doctors, midwives and other healthcare workers on its books.
NHS Professionals is a limited company wholly owned by the DH and run by Stephen Dangerfield, its chief executive.
The decision is being contemplated as the agency has recently turned profitable. According to its 2013 annual report, it made a £6.7m loss in 2009-10 but moved into the black the following year and has made an aggregated profit of £10.8m.
NHS Professionals counts 60 NHS trusts as clients and said this year that in "the forseeable future, growth in our revenue and profit will come from extending our business in our core markets".
It is not the first time the government has contemplated selling the agency; in 2010 a consultation over its future was launched but for undisclosed reasons the process was delayed.
A DH spokeswoman said: "To make the NHS safer and more efficient we want to improve the way it uses temporary staff and reduce its reliance on expensive agency workers.
"We have commissioned a study looking at a range of options, including the future of NHS Professionals, which we [will] carefully consider before making any decisions."
(Image: c. NHS Professionals)
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