Member News
Health minister Simon Burns has told the Commons that a 10-year deal signed with a private company to run an NHS hospital "is not a privatisation in any shape or form".
Shadow minister Liz Kendall asked an urgent question this morning about the deal with Circle Ltd to take control of Hinchingbrooke hospital in Cambridgeshire.
Burns told her that the hospital trust has struggled to overcome a legacy debt that represents £39m of its £100m annual turnover.
The deal with Circle will see the debt paid off within the ten years of the contract, which secures the "long-term future of the hospital", he said.
Burns told the Commons that while this will be "a new management model in the NHS", made possible by legislation introduced by the previous Labour government.
The staff will remain NHS employees and the assets of the hospital remain in public ownership, he said.
Kendall said patients and the public will be "concerned" at this "unprecendented agreement" to allow a private company to take over the running of an NHS hospital.
She said Circle has no experience of running maternity or emergency services, and asked for an assurance that all services would be maintained for the decade of the contract.
She questioned how it will pay off nearly £40m of debt by "cutting waste and bureaucracy", while paying dividends to shareholders.
Kendall said there are implications for the "wider NHS" and 20 more struggling hospitals may be "taken over" by private providers.
She said Circle has "close links to the Conservative party" and asked for details of all "formal and informal meetings".
Kendall claimed patients are "deeply worried" about the government's vision for the NHS.
Burns replied that he was "speechless at the sheer effrontery of the honourable lady".
He said the contract only came about because of Labour's legislation, and the process began in 2007 and continued under Labour secretaries of state, at a time when Kendall was a special adviser in the department for health.
Burns while Circle may want to "redeploy and retain" NHS staff at the hosptial, there will not be any redundancies.
It remains an NHS hospital, he added.
Burns said "nobody guarantees" what services a hosptial will be providing in 10 or 15 years time.
Article Comments
For the last 18 months, the government has been actively gearing up to privatise the NHS- and now at the first opportunity they have done so. They are putting the flesh on the privatisation bones.
Rachael Maskell, national officer for health, Unite
10th Nov 2011 at 2:59 pm
GMB is watching this closely from the treatment of GMB members and their patients at the Trust to the financial engineering that the health and care sectors readily use to syphon money away to tax havens from its intend caring purpose.
I have commissioned our researchers, who predicted the demise of Southern Cross due to the excesses of the landlords, to do a full investigation and to follow the money.
Rehana Azam, national officer, GMB
10th Nov 2011 at 12:55 pm
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.