By Grahame Morris MPThe Department of Health have announced the formation of a new expert panel advising the Government on “Strengthening the NHS Constitution”. The purpose of the panel is to develop proposals to give the NHS Constitution greater traction so that patients, staff and the public are clear what to do, and who to turn to, when their expectations under the Constitution are not met.
A commendable aim, however, the inclusion of the Commercial Director of Virgin Care, raises a number of questions especially given the private sectors £7 billion scramble for NHS contracts that have been put out to tender.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Virgin Care has stated that they aim to make an eight percent profit from NHS contracts, which are financed by the taxpayer. Given that Virgin Care’s business model focuses on being able to offer a better service and value for money, what benefit would they achieve in strengthening the NHS, and weakening the case for private sector involvement in the health service.
Most people accept that transparency is a key principle for an accountable NHS. Most would also agree that it is only right that public services are scrutinised to ensure the taxpayer receives value for money.
Therefore, I intend to bring forward a Ten Minute Rule Bill in Parliament in order to safeguard public accountability. As the NHS is opened up to the private sector many organisations are hiding behind ‘commercial confidentiality’ to refuse publishing information and details of their NHS contract. The secret bidding process means that private providers are neither transparent nor accountable. While the private sector in the NHS operates under a cloak of secrecy, NHS Trusts must comply with the Freedom of Information Act, meaning they release data that the private sector can use to win new contracts by undercutting the existing NHS provider.
It is time to shine a light on shady deals, and I will be calling for both public and private sector organisations in the NHS to come under the full scope of the Freedom of Information Act, because the public have a right to know how their money is being spent.
I have rejected throughout, the Coalition Government’s top down reorganisation of our NHS that is fragmenting and opening the gates to privatisation of our most valued public service. We need to break the current consensus that puts competition and profits before patient care.
Achieving a level playing field between the public and private sector for the procurement of NHS services is only a start; we need to remove the ‘for profit’ sector. The NHS is too important to fail, we should be promoting improvement through co-operation between health services, and not supporting profits through competition which is taking money out of our health service.
EDM 773 – Private Healthcare Companies and Freedom of Information
That this House notes that the most significant development that has followed from the Government’s healthcare reforms has been the 7 billion worth of new contracts being made available to the private health sector; further notes that at least five former advisers to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer are now working for lobbying firms with private healthcare clients; recalls the Prime Minister’s own reported remarks prior to the general election when he described lobbying as `the next big scandal waiting to happen’; recognises the growing scandal of the procurement model that favours the private health sector over the NHS, by allowing private companies to hide behind commercial confidentiality and which compromises the best practice aspirations of the public sector;condemns the practice of revolving doors, whereby Government health advisers move to lucrative contracts in the private healthcare sector, especially at a time when the privatisation of the NHS is proceeding by stealth;is deeply concerned at the unfair advantages being handed to private healthcare companies; and demands that in future all private healthcare companies be subject to freedom of informationrequests under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in the same way as existing NHS public sector organisations.
Twitter: @GrahameMorris | Website: Grahame Morris MP
Labour Left
