Strong and sustained campaigning by UNISON South West has paid off after plans to privatise £75m of NHS services in Cornwall have been scrapped.
Last summer, NHS Kernow – the clinical commissioning group for Cornwall and the Scilly Isles – announced that a range of “non-complex” procedures, from minor trauma care to appointments to hernia repairs, were to be outsourced.
“The services were in need of modernisation” stated the commissioning group at the time, but it has now reached the conclusion that “competitive procurement won’t deliver what’s needed,” BBC Radio Cornwall reported today.
The local UNISON branch has been campaigning against various forms of privatisation, and its recent AGM passed a motion reaffirming this including the threat of industrial action.
UNISON south west regional organiser Stuart Roden said: “We very much welcome this move. We believe that joining up services in an integrated way will improve patient care and protect NHS services.
“UNISON has campaigned tirelessly over the last few years in Cornwall and this is a major triumph for the union’s strategy.”