Save Our NHS Leicestershire has drafted the following model trade union motion opposing the government’s proposals to increase funding to the private sector in the NHS. Please share with your trade union branches and campaign groups.
This branch notes:
“After more than a decade of mismanagement and inadequate funding by successive Tory-led governments, NHS waiting lists have reached their highest levels on record, with around 6.4 million people waiting for 7.5 million treatments.
“This situation is having a profoundly negative impact on working class people, including on millions of trade union members, our communities and our families, and it urgently needs addressing.
“The government has proposed to remedy the waiting lists by expanding the private sector, which is proposed to take on an additional one million appointments on top of the five million appointments and treatments it currently provides each year.
“While we share the government’s desire to cut the waiting lists, we are extremely concerned that its proposals will cause more problems than it will solve.
“NHS campaigners, health unions and many others have repeatedly argued that the private sector serves as a serious drain on public resources.
“Analysis by The Guardian suggests that if the amount spent on private providers is increased proportionally from the latest total (£12.3 billion in 2023/24) it could add up to an extra £2.5 billion flowing out of the NHS into the private sector.
“In addition to drawing real funding away from the NHS, the private sector contributes to a structural detriment in the NHS because it only treats the least complex and most profitable elective cases, leaving the NHS saddled with the most complex and expensive work.
“The private sector is dependent on NHS staff, so further expanding its role in elective care provision will mean more staff are pulled from the NHS to work on less serious cases. This will further diminish the NHS’s opportunities to treat patients with more complex health needs, leading to even longer waiting times for those with more demanding needs.
“Additionally, the government’s focus on smaller Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) and surgical hubs as a means to cut the waiting lists will likely cause further disruption by fragmenting the already under-staffed NHS workforce into smaller scattered units.
“Profit has no place in public health. What is really needed is a massive injection of funding into the NHS, with annual increases restored to pre-2010 levels, restorative pay rises for its workers to end the recruitment crisis, and for the full renationalisation of public health in the UK.
This branch resolves to:
- Put its name to the following public statement written by Save Our NHS Leicestershire*
- Inform members about local protests around this issue as they arise
- Raise this motion and statement with the local trades council
*Public statement
After more than a decade of mismanagement and inadequate funding by successive Tory-led governments, NHS waiting lists have reached their highest levels on record, with around 6.4 million people waiting for 7.5m treatments.
This situation is having a profoundly negative impact on society, including on millions of trade union members, our communities and our families, and it urgently needs addressing.
The government has proposed to remedy the waiting lists by expanding the private sector, which is proposed to take on an additional one million appointments on top of the five million appointments and treatments it currently provides each year.
While we share the government’s desire to cut the waiting lists, we are extremely concerned that its proposals will cause more problems than it will solve.
NHS campaigners, health unions and many others have repeatedly argued that the private sector serves as a serious drain on public resources.
Analysis by The Guardian suggests that if the amount spent on private providers is increased proportionally from the latest total (£12.3 billion in 2023/24) it could add up to an extra £2.5 billion flowing out of the NHS into the private sector.
In addition to drawing real funding away from the NHS, the private sector also contributes to a structural detriment to the NHS because it only treats the least complex and most profitable elective cases, leaving the NHS saddled with the most complex and expensive work.
The private sector is dependent on NHS staff, so further expanding its role in elective care provision will mean more staff are pulled from the NHS to work on less serious cases. This will further diminish the NHS’s opportunities to treat patients with more complex health needs, leading to even longer waiting times for those with more demanding needed.
Additionally, the government’s focus on Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) and surgical hubs as a means to cut the waiting lists will likely cause further disruption by fragmenting the already under-staffed NHS workforce into smaller scattered units.
This is a recipe for inefficiency and chronic staff shortages. Diverting more patients with the most minor conditions to private sector providers also means diverting more money and staff away from the main NHS providers which have to cope with the full spectrum of health needs.
Profit has no place in public health. What is really needed is massive injection of funding onto the NHS, with annual increases restored to pre-2010 levels, restorative pay rises for its workers to end the recruitment crisis, and for the full nationalisation of public health in the UK.
Read more:
Waiting list policy reset makes things worse – The Lowdown
Private sector’s role in cutting NHS waiting lists in England to rise by 20% | Health policy | The Guardian
saveournhsleicestershire.uk 
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