Does the British Government want to privatise the NHS?

No Government policy for a long while has drummed up as much controversy, fear, and outrage as the Health and Social Care Bill. These drastic proposals were put forward by coalition Health Secretary Andrew Lansley in January 2011, despite them being mentioned neither in the Conservative manifesto nor the Coalition\’s programme for Government. Much of the public outcry surrounding it has centred on the fear that the Bill will effectively privatise the NHS. But is this concern really justified?

The Bill proposes a number of sweeping changes which would amount to a total restructuring of the NHS, such as the abolition of Primary Care Trusts and the ability for GPs to commission services. However, the fear of privatisation comes from just one particular point- the proposal to change to current system whereby services are provided only by the NHS and its affiliates to provision by \”any willing provider\”. This in effect means that private companies will be able to provide any of the services that the NHS currently offers.

This means that private companies will be able to compete to offer services that are currently provided by the NHS, as long as they provide \’value for money\’ for the services. What this could mean, however, is that private companies could start to cherry-pick only the services that will make the most profit, thus reducing access to necessary services across the board. Concerns such as this have provoked outrage from across the medical profession, with huge professional bodies like the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing publicly condemning the Bill.

Despite the public backlash, the coalition has largely continued to support Health Secretary Andrew Lansley in pushing forward with the reforms. In fact, both Prime Minister David Cameron and deputy PM Nick Clegg have come out publicly in support of Lansley. Cameron even went so far as to say he was \’at one\’ with Lansley over the proposals.

The Bill is currently passing through the House of Lords, though it has been held back before due to the level of public controversy, and Lansley has been forced to make numerous amendments to water down the proposals. However, if the legislation is passed, private providers could have a much larger say in the running of the NHS and there is a clear risk of it turning into an organisation that favours profit over care. Only time will tell how this pans out.

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