Commenting on plans to put out to tender purchasing of
healthcare for the county of Oxfordshire, Karen Jennings UNISON
Head of Health said:
“Primary Care Trusts are being driven into making hasty decisions
about the future of primary care services because of the impossibly
tight deadlines set by the Government. Outsourcing the
commissioning function would be a significant change in policy
which was not in the manifesto and has never been discussed by
the Party.
“The Government should respect the decision of the Labour party
conference last month and call a halt to the introduction of
competition into primary care services until we have a full review of
the likely impact.
“The danger inherent in the Oxford Board’s proposal to shift
commissioning wholesale into the private sector, is that the
contract will be awarded to the bidder that promises the largest
efficiency savings – shifting the focus from meeting the health
needs of the local population to cost cutting and provider profits.
“We will be lobbying the Government hard to get these proposals
thrown out.”
UNISON expects the advice to SHA Chief Executives from John
Bacon, Group Director on 26th August 2005 to be honoured by
Oxford and all other NHS organisations.
This said ‘Changes to PCT service provision do not need to be
complete until December 2008 and that PCT’s will want to wait for
the White Paper, Your Health, Your Care, Your Say, before forming
a view on how services should be provided in the future. It is
unhelpful for SHA’s to be rushing headlong into the design of new
delivery units at this time’.
ends