Public sector unions accused the British government of "creeping privatisation" of the National Health Service yesterday after it signalled the end of the NHS's domination of health care provision.
As part of Labour's drive to modernise the NHS and cut waiting lists, the privately run Redwood Hospital in Surrey will treat up to 12,000 NHS patients each year free. The ground-breaking deal drawn up between the Health Secretary, Mr Alan Milburn, and BUPA, the private health care group, means the hospital will stop treating private patients by the end of 2002 and will only treat NHS patients.
The hospital will be the first of 20 diagnostic centres for the NHS, which the government plans to deliver by 2004. It will treat patients for routine surgery, such as hip and knee replacements. Mr Milburn said the NHS's biggest difficulty was shortage of capacity and although he was not suggesting the private sector could solve every problem, it could make a positive contribution.
"What we are seeing here is a move away from a monolithic NHS that is controlled from the top down, towards an NHS that devolves power to front line services," Mr Milburn told BBC Radio 4.
Patients' groups broadly welcomed the public-private partnership. However, attending a rally in support of public sector workers, outside parliament, Mr Dave Prentis, general secretary of the largest public sector union, Unison, said there was no evidence a private company could treat patients any better than the NHS.
TUC general secretary Mr John Monks insisted that while "temporary" measures to reduce waiting lists were needed "if properly resourced, the NHS is perfectly capable of handling routine operations, which is all that will be done at this BUPA hospital". Mr Monks said : "The message I want ringing around the Palace of Westminster today is that only public sector workers can deliver the improvements which were promised at the general election. It is certainly not going to be BUPA."