| Sir Stephen Bubb |
The regulations - made
under the Health & Social Care Act just as the bill was coming into force
in April this year - were seen by many as confirming the determination of the
government to hand over large swathes of the NHS to private companies. The
regulations effectively force local health bosses to put all
services out to tender unless they can prove there is just one capable
provider.
As the debate raged over
the implications of the regulations - with the RCGP, the RCN, and the BMA all
coming out strongly against them - the Chairman of the Association of Chief
Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO), Sir Stephen Bubb, teamed up with
private healthcare advocates the NHS Partners Network to lobby the health
secretary, Jeremy Hunt into not ‘watering down’ the regulations.
The letter co-signed by Sir Stephen Bubb and Partners Network director David Worskett raised ‘deep concern’ at reports in the Guardian that the government was ‘contemplating substantive concessions over these important regulations.’
Bubb and Worskett urged
the NHS to ‘embrace a new culture’ to include ‘opening the way’ for the
potential contribution of ‘new providers…We strongly urge the government to
stand firm.’
Earlier this year Social Investigations exposed how Bubb was
at the heart of a network of lobbying around the Health and
Social Care Act itself, along with Nick Seddon (now Cameron’s health policy advisor). The NHS Partners
Network’s members include private healthcare companies with
multiple financial links to MPs and Lords. These groups were instrumental in
lobbying during the supposed ‘pause’ in the passage of the Health & Social
Care Act last year, following near total discontent across the medical
profession with the Bill’s proposals.
Sir Stephen Bubb was
invited by then Health minister Simon Burns to head the Choice and Competition
panel of the NHS Future Forum. The appointment made sense to the Conservatives
as Sir Stephen Bubb had already been campaigning for a bigger role for the
voluntary sector in the public services, a key part of the Conservative party’s
‘Big Society’ mantra.
 |
| David Worskett |
Partners Network leader
David Worskett praised Bubb for his determined approach to opening up the NHS
to competition, informing his members of his ‘lengthy’ discussion with Sir
Stephen Bubb where they had ‘agreed on the approach he would take, what the key
issues are, and how to handle the politics.’ Bubb had ‘not deviated from this
for a moment throughout the period.’
Stephen Bubb's ability to
get the 'agreed' message across was appreciated by Worskett and was seen to be
so supportive that he ‘often carried the day and won more support than we might
have expected.”
The charity and voluntary
sector make up over a third of the UK private healthcare sector, and
according to Sir Stephen Bubb represent a ‘bigger player’ than people
think. Bubb told a 2010 voluntary sector conference ‘The third sector could grow by £2bn a year
by 2015, just through increased involvement in offender rehabilitation and
public health.’
Shortly after coming into
power the government met with the CBI to discuss privatisation strategy. Leaked
minutes revealed that Francis Maude told the group that transferring
services at least initially to “charities,
social enterprises and mutuals” would be more “palatable” and carry less
“political risk” than “wholesale outsourcing to the private sector”. However
in reality charities cannot compete against the financial muscle of the private
sector. Research conducted by campaign organisation the NHS Support Foundation shows
that since April 1st this year 100 clinical services worth £1.5
billion have largely gone to commercial companies. Last
month the Bain Consultancy revealed how private sector companies are now engaged in an ‘arms race’ to win £5bn of
National Health Service contracts. Third sector advocates should learn from the experience
of Surrey Central Health, where a much lauded transfer of NHS services to a
“social enterprise” led within a couple of years to a takeover by Virgin, who
were better able to raise bond finance.
Recent failings from
private companies such as Serco fiddling data for their out of hours service,
or G4S overcharging on their contracts, has down nothing to diminish the speed
with which outsourcing is taking place. However, as the list of private
outsourcing failures grows, the government will increasingly appreciate being
able to emphasise the 3rd sector as a more palatable
alternative, even if their involvement is not sustainable. In fact, David
Cameron has already turned towards the voluntary sector in his hour of need.
When asked by Ed Miliband who supported the government’s legislation he cited Bubb’s ACEVO.
Does Bubb’s vociferous
support for privatisation benefit the 1,500 ACEVO membership of charity leaders
(the members of whom are currently hidden from public view). Or does it
ultimately benefit the members of the NHS Partners Network, whose membership
includes Virgin Care, United Health UK or Care UK?
A recent article in the Guardian written by Pam
Lewis of CancerCare suggests some charities at least are willing to take part
in the dismantling of the NHS. Ms Lewis stated how the changes to the NHS will
benefit CancerCare and at the same time take the strain off of ‘traditional NHS
care providers.’ In words that echo that of Sir Stephen Bubb, she said that
‘while maintaining their charity status, they can become a ‘serious and
competitive player’ in the NHS, which would be a ‘huge step for their charity.’
Despite the grand
ambitions of CancerCare, the evidence so far suggests charities are but a
figleaf for the private equity backed corporations who can outbid them or offer
them dubious partnerships. The carrot is dangled in front of the charities
noses, which has led them to walk hand-in-hand with private healthcare giants.
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This article was co-published with ourNHS on openDemocracy
I don't like the sound of this to be honest , Charities should enhance the NHS not compete with it
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