Thread by @EveryDoctorUK

#NHSprivatisation has been creeping into the NHS for 40 years. Understanding the past is vital to plan for the future. Here’s a timeline of some of the key moments we’re sharing with MPs today

1980s: The internal market. Meant to create competition & increase efficiency, instead it caused admin costs to soar. From 5% in the mid-70s to 14% by 2003, according to a study by York University.

1992: Private Finance Initiatives. Used to build new hospitals, PFIs plunged the NHS into a sea of debt & we’re still paying them off. Buying out PFI contracts would cost £25-33bn but since repayments are set to reach £82bn - this would be a massive saving of public money...

Read more via 👇 nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/makin…

2000: Outsourcing to private providers damages the sustainability of the NHS & wastes money in the process. One provider Netcare didn’t perform nearly 40% of work it was contracted to do & received £35mn for patients never treated. Thanks to @ElGingihy's book 👇 for these facts!

2004: Alternative Provider Medical Services allowed private companies to directly employ GPs. Leading companies like Serco, Harmoni and Take Care Now, to scoop up swaths of out-of-hours care.

2012: The Health and Social Care Act, a significant turning point. Created postcode lotteries for those suffering from rare diseases or unusual healthcare demands & NHS patients started getting bumped down waiting lists to accommodate private patients.

2013: Rise in private digital healthcare by companies like Babylon which Health Secretary Matt Hancock has publicly endorsed.

2018: Integrated Care Systems making it even easier for private healthcare companies to enter procurement contracts

2021: US healthcare firm Centene & its UK subsidiary Operose are now running 58 GP practices in the UK covering half a million patients, with the potential ability to restrict access and treatment to patients with little to no public oversight. 👇
theguardian.com/society/2021/f…