Reforms could mean ‘de-nationalisation’ of NHS
pharmafile | August 9, 2010 | News story | | NHS, government
Tribal, a private healthcare provider, has welcomed the new NHS reforms, saying they are so radical that they could represent the ‘de-nationalisation’ of the health service.
It uses this term to refer to the transformation of NHS trusts into employee-owned organisations rather than publicly owned – however critics have seized on it as a sign of a private company takeover of the NHS.
Kingsley Manning, business development director for health at Tribal, says: “This white paper could amount to the de-nationalisation of healthcare services in England and is the most important redirection of the NHS in more than a generation, going further than any Secretary of State has gone before.
“A cornerstone of the White Paper’s argument for such radical change is the NHS’s comparatively poor outcomes.
“The old certainties are gone: the NHS cannot be protected from economic reality any longer.”
As a private provider, Tribal could be among a number of companies who stand to gain from the changes. The reforms open up competition in the commissioning of NHS services for the first time.
This means that instead of asking former PCTs to oversee the day-to-day duties and responsibilities of commissioning, GP consortia could ask private companies to step in.
The company highlighted three key areas:
GP commissioning: The success or failure of this initiative depends on whether GP support for the proposals can be secured. Tribal says GPs will have to be willing to form consortia without excessive financial incentives, given the responsibilities associated with managing tax-payers’ money.
Patient power: At the core of the White Paper is the patient and the right to choice services. For the first time, patients will be able to choose not only which hospital to go to but which consultant they want to see, based on consultants’ clinical outcome information.
De-nationalisation: the changes could result in the biggest transfer of employment since the 1980s. As NHS trusts become Foundation trusts, this will see the transfer of billions of tax-payers’ assets to employee-controlled businesses.
Tribal says further details are needed to ensure local health systems do not suffer during the transition period. Tribal already provides services in healthcare planning and management to the NHS, but could see its role expand greatly under the reforms.
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