OUTSOURCING
The shape of things to come?
It now seems certain that Hinchingbrooke Healthcare NHS Trust is to be managed by a private sector organisation. Although this has been described as privatisation through the back door, the staff involved seem confident that the trust will continue to be run in the same way as every other NHS facility, reports Richard Mackillican
H
inchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust in Cambridgeshire made
history earlier this year when it announced that only private sector bidders remained in the running for the unique operating franchise for the hospital, after the last NHS care provider, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, had withdrawn.
Following this announcement, the media was full of headlines about NHS privatisation and what the consequences might be for the quality of patient care if the management of NHS facilities was profit driven.
Those involved in the takeover, however, see things quite differently.
“The process which
Hinchingbrooke Healthcare NHS Trust is currently engaged in is unprecedented, highly innovative and I would anticipate that it is highly likely to be a model of things to come,” says Dr Stephen Dunn, director of strategy at NHS East of England, the SHA involved in the process.
So how have things got the point where an NHS hospital cannot find an NHS provider to run it?
Firstly, the hospital is currently nursing a debt in the region of £40 million on a turnover of around £90 million which, at around 50 per cent, would require a considerable amount
44 nhe
“As a result of this, we wanted to work through an operating franchise where we would find someone who wanted to run and provide that range of services. By doing this, we wanted to maximise innovation whilst also looking for a way of paying off the hospital’s debt and ensuring that the Hinchingbrooke Healthcare NHS Trust is sustainable going forward.
of time and resources to deal with. This potential drain on NHS resources was even cited by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as a reason for them not to take their bid any further.
“Along with its debt, the hospital has no clear way of paying it off, so we have been looking at a wide variety of options around how we could go about reducing the size of the debt and therefore ensuring that Hinchingbrooke Healthcare NHS Trust is sustainable going forward.
“What we have identified as Dr Stephen Dunn
being the best option was to go through an open competitive process to find the best placed partner to provide sustainable services at Hinchingbrooke. This has been the first time that the independent and voluntary sectors have been allowed to bid alongside the NHS to provide care services in this way.”
The whole process began back in 2007 when a public consultation found that local people were keen to see Hinchingbrooke Hospital keep its doors open and to continue to provide the same or a similar range of services it had been doing up to that point.
“This project is not about privatisation and that both the staff and assets are completely safe and under the direct control of the NHS.”
This process of finding a suitable partner has now begun and has received a good response. The franchise term being offered is expected to be around seven years.
“We began the process with about 15 interested parties and through a qualification process, or competitive process dialogue, we have narrowed our search down.”
Hinchingbrooke is a modern, purpose-built hospital with 369 beds providing quality up- to-date healthcare - including accident and emergency and maternity services - for approximately 161,000 people in Huntingdon and surrounding areas
Circle and Serco Health were issued with the invitation to tender in October. The preferred franchisee will be announced at the end of November, once the project board recommendation has been noted by Hinchingbrooke and NHS Cambridgeshire’s boards, and approved by NHS East of England’s board.
“Serco is a highly experienced Nov/Dec 10
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