FEATURE
Bids and Barters
Despite the recent controversy over local authorities paying pennies to private homecare providers, Thornton & Lowe’s Lee Wagstaff explains why the company believes outsourcing of healthcare services is here to stay.
The debate surrounding NHS outsourcing is set to rage on, and while plenty of us have some strong opinions, there doesn’t seem to be a simple solution on either side. It’s no secret that the NHS has to start saving money, reduce waiting lists and offer excellent standards of care, but many hospitals are over capacity and thus have begun looking towards private sector services to take care of the overflow.
It seems like their only option, but many are worried about the cost of this method, especially when a third of NHS contracts are already outsourced to private firms. In fact, the portion of the NHS’ budget that has been awarded to these firms has been on the rise for the last eight years making matters even more questionable, particularly
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when the United Kingdom Homecare Association (UKHCA) has already reported underfunding in the homecare sector. Are we getting the best deal from outsourcing?
With the government committing to award more public sector contracts to SMEs, opportunities abound but competition will increase at the same time.
Quality of Care We’re often presented with horror stories of lower healthcare standards in private organisations. The Royal
National Institute of Blind People in particular has come forward to say that outsourcing is a ‘key concern’ for NHS eye operations, as 1 in 10 cataracts operations are outsourced to private firms. A recent report by The Independent revealed that patients who had been treated by private healthcare providers had been left with serious damage from shrapnel being left in the eye during surgery, loss of pigment and in some cases severe burns.
As soon as patients leave an NHS site for care, there’s a risk that care standards will slip. How can we expect these third party services to adhere to NHS policies and procedures? It seems almost impossible to monitor the practices of external providers after they have been awarded a contract, especially
www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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