Will GPs soon be all that stands in the way of a privatised NHS?

By , Wednesday, 4 August 2010, 2 Comments
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Will the private sector cash in on the lack of management expertise of GP consortia due to run an annual £80 billion commissioning budget in England by 2013 under White Paper plans?


 


It’s a question posed and answers explored in this week’s GP newspaper (online links available Thursday) as the outcomes of the coalition government’s NHS plans become clearer.


 


Will firms such as UnitedHealth UK, Tribal and Humana be content to continue to provide the data collection, health system analysis and contract management that they currently provide PCTs? Or will they aim to take over commissioning altogether?


 


With firms running Darzi centres to be represented on GP consortia, how long before private companies working in the NHS with experience of buying healthcare have a seat/s at the NHS Commissioning Board?


 


The White Paper undoubtedly presents private firms with many more opportunities for NHS expansion and what will be fascinating over the coming months will be whether GPs act on the BMA’s Look After Our NHS campaign and its anti-privatisation agenda – or not.


 


Healthcare Republic reports on Thursday that GP consortia are ‘odds-on’ to fall into deficit and be taken over by private firms when they take on commissioning, according to east London GP Dr Kambiz Boomla.


 


He argues that almost all PCTs were in financial difficulties a few years ago during times of growth.


 


Couple this with the enthusiasm of at least one firm, Humana, to take over consortia where local GPs are not performing and suddenly the White Paper looks like opening the door for GPs to take control of the NHS may instead allow firms to privatise it. Or at least parts of it.


 


The fly in the ointment for traditionalists is that not all GPs are hugely confident about commissioning. A recent GP survey found that that more than 70% think they will lack the skills and resources to commission well.


 


With PCTs consigned to the dustbin of history, will GPs soon be all that stands in the way of a privatised NHS? And, perhaps more pertinently, are you ready, willing and able to stop privatisation?

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  • ANDREA PARKIN

    Unfortuately Gps are not traditionally very good when asked to work together! This would mean that many gps may be encouraged to join forces with Gps that they would not normally have done so !! This will be a very interesting time. Some Gps have excellent entreprenuerial skills others just generally are not interested at all !The governement knows this tough surely !!And as you say private companies waiting in the wings to take over ! Privatisation surely looms ??

  • Neil Durham

    Hi Andrea, It’s difficult to know how cynical to be about this. The optimist in me would like to think that private companies would never take over consortia’s commissioning because GPs would never fail. But, as you rightly point out, not all GPs are enthusiastic about commissioning. I guess whether NHS privatisation is a good or a bad thing depends on each individual’s point of view. At least practice-based commissioning groups are likely to form some sort of template for how consortia might form.

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