Press Release

Eight out of ten doctors are concerned about private companies profiting from the NHS, a poll shows today (Wednesday 23 December, 2009).

The online poll was commissioned by the BMA, and carried out by Doctors.net.uk - the UK’s largest network of medical professionals. Doctors.net.uk members were asked:

“The BMA's ‘Look after our NHS’ campaign is concerned that some large multinational companies are making profits out of running local clinical services on behalf of the NHS. To what extent do you agree with the campaign’s concerns?”

There were 697 responses with 80 per cent saying they either strongly agreed (51 per cent) or agreed (29 per cent) with the statement. Just 7 per cent said they either disagreed (4 per cent) or strongly disagreed (3 per cent).

The BMA also publishes today a paper listing reports of public money being wasted as a result of market-driven reforms. Examples include an estimate that as much as £1.54 billion might have been overpaid to Independent Sector Treatment Centres in England, and figures showing that the NHS in England spent around £350 million on private management consultants in the last financial year.

Comments from Doctors.net.uk’s members included:

“The process of outsourcing previously public services to private industry often works very badly - witness the railways, London Underground, private prisons. Its application to the NHS is a major threat to the public health.” Clinical assistant in general surgery

“The NHS no longer exists. There are a number of health services in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, all different, no longer national in a UK sense. We are at a time when Foundation Trusts have become businesses, motivated by profit and loss.” Consultant urologist

“Our glorious leaders seem determined to follow the USA into healthcare economic oblivion. Based on a blind, and stupid belief, that private provision is always best.” GP

Dr Hamish Meldrum, Chairman of Council at the BMA, said:

“This is more evidence of the medical profession’s concerns about commercial values being imposed on the NHS. There are countless examples of taxpayers’ money being wasted because of the drive for services to be provided by profit-making companies rather than traditional NHS providers. When politicians talk about cutting waste they should consider the fact that the bureaucratic costs of a market are hitting the taxpayer hard. We’d like to see the NHS in England restored to a publicly provided, publicly funded service, driven by the needs of patients, not shareholders.”

Tim Ringrose, managing director of medical communities at Doctors.net.uk, said:

“The poll results confirm that doctors take a very keen interest in the delivery of clinical services in their area and that they are naturally protective about any perceived interference from central government or cherry-picking of profitable areas by those with a commercial interest. Our experience indicates that to ensure the best outcomes for patients when change is planned, medical professionals need to be engaged with in a considered and consistent way.”

The BMA’s Look After our NHS campaign (www.lookafterournhs.org.uk) has been gathering information from doctors on their experiences of NHS market reforms. It will be launched to a public audience early next year.


Notes to editors:

1) Full poll results:

Question: The BMA's "Look after our NHS" campaign is concerned that some large multinational companies are making profits out of running local clinical services on behalf of the NHS. To what extent do you agree with the campaign’s concerns?


Response Count

Strongly agree 355
Agree 200
Neither agree/disagree 57
Disagree 25
Strongly disagree 21
Can't say 39

Total: 697

2) View the BMA paper listing examples of waste resulting from private provision of NHS services at: http://www.bma.org.uk/press_centre/pressnhswaste.jsp

3) Doctors.net.uk has a membership comprising the vast majority of UK doctors. Each week over 50,000 use the service making it the online resource most frequently used by doctors. The network provides extensive clinical content including online education, conference highlights, user-generated content and fora for discussion. This array of content supports doctors in making the best decisions for the care of their patients. In surveys, 97% of members of the network say that Doctors.net.uk is their most trusted source of information.

Doctors.net.uk provides a channel through which the health service and industry can effectively communicate with and research the opinions of medical professionals.

 

For more information:
http://about.doctors.net.uk/About/News.aspx?i=1