Moving the NHS from public sector to private sector Essay

The topic Health Service (NHS) is a state run entity dumbfound up by the Labour government after 1948 as part of the upbeat state. It was originally run by local authorities with backing from common aspire cash allocated by central government. Though in recent years this cash has been moving to the semi cloistered empyrean and many film speculated that this is privatisation by stealth. In this essay I pass on attempt to understand this exploit by giving some historical context to the events of the last hardly a(prenominal) decades while pointing out some of the advantages and disadvantages, and the forms it could take, of privatisation. In conclusion I intrust to point to a future where the NHS ass exist with public money and clubby management.It came out of a work ating class movement. The powers that be introduced various health and welf are reforms after the Second World War in response to working class agitation and mobilisation health form come outed a bett er option than a Russian revolution1 This is a institution that does not fit easily into the world of market place liberalisation and globalisation, plainly it is a right many people rule should be free and is even recognised by the U.N. as a fundamental human right. Selling off the NHS, as previous Tory governments sustain done to other parts of the U.K.s infrastructure would be politically unsatisfactory especially given the general popularity of the NHS and its entrenched public nature.2But reform and wobble have accrued. The first change, by the Tories in 1983, was in the mien musical accompaniment was allocated. For example, budgets where previously allocated on the basis of geographical areas privationsNow funding is allocated as payment per patient3 This change allowed for the transfer of money from the public to the private sector.This can be jawn in the declare oneself of private long term care which grew from 175,000 places in 1985 to 650,000 in 1998. This grow th was funded c digest entirely out of the public purse4 This has led to a formation where money is now thrown at the private sector through arrangements such as Independent treatment centres (ISTCs) and the private finance initiative (PFI). One such arrangement Ravenscourt Park cost to set up and closed with a deficit of. These are figures that have to be borne by the NHS5Clearly the NHS is now a half-way house between the public and private sectors. While the front Labour government take cares set on displace ahead with more ways of privatisation.John Carvel noted thatHealth secretarial assistant Patricia Hewitt is preparing to transfer NHS hospitals buildings into the private sector as part of a bn lineation to promote competition in the health utilitycompanies bidding for contractswill be allowed to take over NHS premises, doctors and nurses.6The implementation of this document are already in motion. Recently DHL gained a contract worth 6bn to provide non pharmaceutical supplies for ten years. Payment will be made according to the savings it can shed, which the government estimates at some n.7So while this may sympathisem like a good idea Effective implementation of luxurious investment projectsis hardly the governments strong point.8 So to make this work DHL would have to be finely regulated. Given enough freedom so that they can destroy cosy past relationships, but not be allowed to bully suppliers and lower standards due to a need to please shareholders and make profit.To see what problems a health service run for profit creates we just now have to look at the USA and its private health system. The system of HMOs was set up in the 1970s by the Nixon administration. We can see from these comments recorded on the Nixon White House tapes, (Nixon quotes), that this system was created not to look after patients but to make profit.While the US may have the most advanced health care system available, if a customer does not have enough money or ad equate indemnity their options are limited. These problems where highlighted in Michael Moores documentary Sicko, which compared the US system to that of Cuba, Canada and the UK. It could be state that the narrator was unabashed in his bias against the HMOs, but the courtship shown, that healthcare will become unaffordable for average people, may arise here if privatisation becomes widespread.At the same time though because of the lack of reinvestment in the NHSs infrastructure and Gordon Browns estimation to EU spending targets, alternative funding methods must be found. A recent study by the European Health Consumer Index (EHCI) showed the UK at 17th place behind Ireland, Czech Republic and Estonia in supplying of healthcare. Three countries a long way behind the economic teaching of the UK. In fact while per capita spending placed the UK in twelfth place, the Czech Republic placed 21st showingthat efficiency targets are possible if money is spent wisely.9This of course is t he main argument for the meshing of the private sector in the provision of health care. That they will splay bureaucracy, while subjecting spending plans to stringent management oversight and thus provide better function for cheaper. unluckily the reduction in public provision of long term care, NHS dentistry, optical services and elective surgery shows the flight of steps for the NHS under the PFI.10 We only have to look to Austria to find a publicly funded health system that allows patients who ..regardless of salary, are entitled to use the services of the health system for free although they do pay higher income tax.11 While looking at the EHCI tables we see Austria ranks in first place but only spends (figure here) more than the UK per capita. This suggests that the UK could indeed improve services without the need of the private sector but this would involve raising taxes, a outline both political parties seem wary of due to potential lose of electoral support.One new pot ential direction for the health service could be the internet. The main advantage of the internet is the access to knowledge that it can provide the customer while providing savings within the administration of the NHS. Unfortunately there is one problem that would need to be overcome, computer illiteracy. In most cases those with health problems will be the older members of society, those who are the least computer literate. This suggests to me that while saving could be made, they would not be worthy while we have a generation of customers who do not step comfortable with computers or the the internet. In the long term there is potential, but unfortunately it does not provide any solutions in the short.In does seem that the disadvantages of privatisation on its present course do seem to outweigh the advantages. The present government though has already started down a path that appears to be irreversible. While many within the service would agree that reform is undeniable the pr oblem is that healthcare is seen as a fundamental right provided by the NHS, a endowment to the citizens of the UK after the trauma of World War 2 and the sacrifices they had endured. The UK government has also shown on many occasions that it cannot regulate private companies, that are funded through public funds, toput the general public in the first place profit. Looking at past privatisations of industries we can see, even in the case of the most successful, telecommunications, that this sector lags behind other European countries such as France where for example broadband infrastructure is far ahead of that provided in the UK. therefrom in conclusion the only solution that I can see is a single payer system with strong enough statute that creates European wide regulation in the shape of pharmaceutical charge controls and levies on research and education12 In effect creating a new framework that allows the private sector to provide to provide healthcare. This way the tax payer can benefit from the private sectors skill in delivering increased productivity and value for money, while protecting against its overwhelming trust for profit.1http//www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/gatsprivatiationhealth.htm2ibid3http//www.healthmatters.org.uk/issue 41 p12-134ibid5http//www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1931236,00.html6http//www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,1575243,00.html7http//store.eiu.com/product/1860000186-sample.html8 ibid9EHCI 2007 study10Bmj.com 1/4/9911Irish Independent, 6/9/07 The Austrian health service is the best in Europe, Gemma O Doherty12http//www.healthmatters.org.uk/issue 48 summer 2001 p 11