CAMPAIGNERS have raised concerns after the government seemingly dropped plans to declare the NHS the “preferred provider” of commissioned healthcare services.
The pledge was part of Labour’s National Policy Forum document adopted by the party’s last conference before the general election.
It signalled a shift away from commissioning private firms, with the party vowing to “end the reliance on outsourcing and cronyism that saw our public services weakened in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
But the government has now confirmed that there have been no official meetings about implementing the policy, following a freedom of information request made by public ownership campaign group We Own It.
Labour appeared to U-turn on the pledge, telling campaigners that “it is not government policy for the NHS to be the preferred provider of commissioned healthcare services.”
We Own It lead campaigner Johnbosco Nwogbo said: “This is a deeply worrying sign of what direction the government wants to take the NHS in.
“The preferred provider policy is not radical and will not suddenly end NHS outsourcing.
“It is a middle-ground position designed mainly to stop the bleeding of millions from NHS budgets in private profits.”
According to research by We Own It, over £10 million in private profits is extracted from the NHS every week.
Mr Nwogbo added: “94 per cent of current outsourcing contracts are ending in Labour’s first term in government.
“They have a historic opportunity to reverse the damage done to the NHS by the last government and take services back in-house when their contracts expire like they’re doing in rail.”
The government had previously declared the NHS the preferred provider of healthcare services when Labour’s last health secretary, Andy Burnham, introduced the policy in 2009.
Keep Our NHS Public co-chairman Tony O’Sullivan said: “Under Burnham, this policy put the brakes on NHS privatisation.
“As an NHS paediatrician, this immediately saved us from having to defend our disabled children’s services from bids from the likes of Virgin Health.
“If Labour cannot quickly confirm even this small step towards ending the outsourcing of the NHS, the public and campaigners will vigorously campaign against this.”
