Published: 26 January 2009
NHS Constitution Smokescreen for Privatisation?
The NHS workforce must be fully involved in how the new NHS Constitution evolves, Unite, the largest union in the country, has said.
And Unite said that the constitution should not become ‘a smokescreen’ for further privatisation of the NHS.
Unite National Officer for Health, David Fleming said:
“We welcome any steps that makes the NHS more accountable to patients and clients, makes clearer what they are entitled to, and that staff and patients are treated with respect and dignity.
However, another important part of the equation in making this constitution work on a practical level on a daily basis is involving the workforce and their trade unions in its development. It is shame that the role of the trade unions and professional associations are not mentioned in the main body of the constitution.
The NHS Constitution is ‘a top down’ document, but it needs the speech and language therapist, the lab technician, the health visitor, the ambulance personnel and the maintenance staff to be consulted fully on how it can be best implemented.
Unite remains wary about the government’s continued obsession with privatisation of the NHS and we would not like the fine words and elegant phrases embedded in the constitution to be used as a smokescreen for private companies to take a larger slice of NHS services.
The constitution enshrines further involvement of private and third sector organisations in the delivery of NHS services (i.e. privatisation).
But at the same time, the constitution seeks to enshrine the efficient and best use of resources – however it is now evident that marketisation and privatisation are not the best use of such resources. Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs), for example, are wasteful.
There is, therefore, a glaring contradiction in the constitution as to what it hopes to achieve. We will be raising these apparent contradictions with ministers”.
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