04.01.11
Who to blame?
Disputes over the role of the private sector in the NHS are at the heart of the battle between ministers and the profession over the direction of the reforms – but are some medics fighting the last war?
Ironically, it is one of the areas in which Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is on the most solid ground when saying he is merely building on reforms enacted and implemented by the previous Labour government.
Although a new survey of the ‘pathfinder’ GP consortia trialling the reforms does indeed show greater private sector involvement than came before, these early results should give pause to those claiming the reforms will destroy the NHS or mean it ceases to exist as a single organisation.
Six of 25 consortia questioned by Pulse magazine are not planning to outsource any services at all and will use only NHS managers, and of those that were, half were doing so for HR, and just under a third for accounting, data analysis and back-office support. Will the public be roused to anger and take to the streets in protest if half of consortia HR managers are not directly employed by the NHS?
Fewer than a third of pathfinders are considering the private sector for referral management, which may have implications for clinical care, but only three were planning to outsource at least six of the seven areas they were questioned about to the private or voluntary sector.
The flexibility being given to consortia at this stage is welcome, especially those who do wish to remain ‘NHS-only’ – the test is how much independence they will get from April 2013.
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