The barriers between services, created by the imposed ‘market’, hindered the H&C system’s ability to have an effective coordinated response
3/
However, there are serious concerns re transparency and accountability
There is a lack of coherence and gaping holes in this #NHSwhitepaper on some key crisis areas that require urgent action
4/
As I mentioned, This is NOT an end to privatisation
Under these reforms there is NO duty on the government to provide key services
Foundation trusts are still able to receive 49% of their income from outside the NHS
5/
Moreover, these proposed ICS boards, which will hold significant power
And importantly hold the budget for all acute and community services, can have private companies as members
And private companies can also be contracted to provide services
6/
Unfortunately, this white paper ignores the Health and Social Care Committee “strong recommendation”
to rule out non-statutory providers (i.e. private companies) from holding the ICP contracts
7/
ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY
As I wrote last year, over the pandemic
Over 10 billion worth of contracts have been awarded by government to companies without competition, often to companies with links to the cabinet @thefabians fabians.org.uk/catalogue-of-e…
Within the NHS, the current open tendering process is at least a check against corruption
The lack of detail or transparency in the white paper on how contracts will be given
Means we risk the corruption and cronyism we’ve seen during the pandemic becoming the new norm
9/
SOCIAL CARE
Excess deaths of care home residents AND care workers is the shameful outcome of a dysfunctional system
Pre covid, over 1 mil elderly had unmet care needs (now likely to be higher)
Quite Astonishing, reforming social care is not 1st priority of this government
10/
Furthermore, without reform, trying to “integrate” the NHS (free at the point of need)
And social care (means tested and partly privatised) simply wont work
And could handicap the urgently needed reform of the care sector
11/
PRIORITIES
Structural reforms to our NHS is definitely needed
(those who follow my blog know I have been whinging about this for years)
As it underlies many of the core issues in the health system
And my inner policy geek welcomes the attention to this
HOWEVER.........
12/
I know many of my frontline colleagues will be tearing their hair out
We are working on dangerously under staffed wards
1/3 of nurses intending to leave within the next year
Testing and trace is a vital component of infectious disease control
Against the advice of public health experts, the government outsourced both elements of the process to favourable private companies, with no expertise
Resulting in a dog’s breakfast of incompetence
2/
Deloitte was given the contract, of undisclosed value, to set up off-site testing centres & run the new Lighthouse Laboratories, bypassing existing NHS infrastructure
Deloitte then went on to outsource the running of the testing centres to numerous other corporations
3/