Unison: Government is outsourcing away NHS

The government has been accused of ploughing ahead with plans to privatise primary care services, in comments by a union leader today.

Karen Jennings, head of health at public sector union Unison, claims the Department of Health is calling for private companies to start commissioning Primary Care Trusts (PCT).

The news follows anger generated by an advert placed by the Department of Health in a journal last month. The advertisement, found in the Official Journal of the European Union, asked for private firms to tender senior roles in health care management for PCTs.

Although the advert was subsequently pulled, health minister Andy Burnham, suggested unions had been mistaken over their interpretation of its contents, partly due to a drafting error. This advert has now been replaced with a new notice – but this has done little to pacify the union, which says there is “very, very, little difference between the two”.

Ms Jennings told the BBC: “It’s very clear that this new advert is inviting organisations to provide a huge range of management, health and support services across PCTs,” she said,

“This advert not only enables PCTs to continue to outsource the commissioning responsibility, but its also so unspecified and open-ended in its nature that it is effectively allowing outsourcing to take place on the widest possible scale. So, for example, a private firm could come in and start to commission for other services for the NHS.”

She added concerns that a range of services will be handed over from within the “community and beyond” to PCTs, which will mean reduced autonomy for community practices and GPs.

PCTs were introduced in April 2002 and have since sought to take control of local health care. There are now over 300 PCTS in England, which receive budgets directly from the Department of Health.

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