- Conference
- 2007 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 20 December 2006
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes with serious concern the unprecedented level of spending by the Government on global management consultants that advise on the marketisation and privatisation of the NHS.
Public money paid to McKinsey Consultancy over the last 3 years has dramatically accelerated from spending £250 thousand in 2004 to £4 million in 2005 to almost £10 million during 2006.
Conference also notes that the relationship between key players in these organisations and their close links to the Government, for example, United Health Group (UHG) President Simon Stevens, a one-time special advisor to the Prime Minister’s Health Policy Unit at Downing Street. UHG was paid £4 million to introduce the now discredited Evercare pilot scheme, which focused on care of the elderly. Furthermore the results of the pilot scheme became the intellectual property right of UHG to sell to other NHS primary care services.
Conference is also aware that there are many other examples where business interests have overridden public interest, accountability and transparency. This includes contracts being given to private companies by the Department of Health without public consultation. The decision to award a contract to UHG was successfully appealed in the courts due to lack of consultation.
Another area of concern to Conference is the secrecy involved in commercial contracts. Due to commercial confidentiality the public and trade unions are denied access to the full facts on the contracting out of services, as business interests override full transparency of the financial case to outsource.
UNISON’s request for the full financial case for the outsourcing of NHS Logistics to DHL is an example of where the full financial facts were denied to UNISON in the outsourcing process. This is a practice which breaches HM Treasury’s own guidelines.
Conference remains concerned about DHL outsourcing the purchasing element of NHS Supplies to Novation. Novation has been involved in investigations in the USA and elsewhere for allegations regarding corruption.
Conference calls on the Service Group Executive to:
1.Conduct an inquiry into matters of probity in the involvement of private sector organisations in NHS work, and to examine the issue of “commercial confidentiality” – an often-quoted reason for denying public access to information under the Freedom of Information Act;
2.Investigate the concept of intellectual property rights whereby Foundation Trusts, other NHS organisations and the private sector operating in the NHS are able to claim copyright on information and charge the NHS for making use of it.