Commenting on the shortlist of bidders for cancer care and end of life contracts in Staffordshire, Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said:
“It is alarming to see that only two NHS bidders are in the shortlist for the contracts. Also, the huge interest from the private sector shows they believe there are profits to be made from people’s ill health.
” We have warned that introducing the ‘prime provider’ model for cancer and end of life services in Staffordshire will lead to a massive privatisation of services.
“The use of this model would involve a huge shift in the way cancer and end of life services are commissioned and provided in Stafforshire. Even if an NHS provider wins, they may still sub-contract all the services out to profit-driven companies. This is an unacceptable delegation of responsibility and a dangerous experiment that the NHS cannot afford.
“At times when budgets are being cut and staff overworked the money should be spent on NHS services not on finding ways to give private companies profits.
Earlier this year, Dave Prentis, wrote to Simon Stevens urging him to call a halt to this process and insist that the Clinical Commissioning Groups do not proceed any further until after the General Election in 2015.
“The NHS will be a hugely contentious and contested issue before and during the 2015 General Election and to push these massive changes to two fundamental NHS services ahead of then would not be appropriate and would tie the hands of any incoming government for the next ten years.”
