16 December 2005
Patients are 25% more likely to develop post-operative complications after being treated in one of the new privately run treatment centres than in their NHS equivalents, clinical directors claim.
A British Medical Association survey of 177 clinical directors – covering 24 out of the 28 strategic health authorities in England – monitored perceptions of the impact of the new fast-track treatment centres.
Dr Jonathan Fielden, deputy chair of the BMA's consultants' committee, said that the survey uncovered a growing concern in the NHS over the extra financial pressures readmissions from private centres were creating.
'The private centres are doing the easy bit – the profitable bit if you like – and the NHS is having to pick up the difficult stuff afterwards,' said Fielden.
Dr Paul Miller, chair of the BMA consultants' committee, added: 'It is particularly worrying to find that clinical directors report that there are significant differences between treatment centres run by the NHS and those provided by the independent sector.
'Patients may be getting their operations more quickly, but this benefit is lost if there is concern about the outcomes of care or where the transfer of cases is having an adverse affect on the local trust.'
Health minister Lord Warner dismissed the survey as unrepresentative.
'We use the independent sector to provide services for NHS patients only where there are clear benefits,' he says.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: 'The independent sector provider is contractually responsible for the follow-up care or any complications of the patients they treat.'
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