Scots NHS boards told to scale back use of private providers

20 Jan 14
Scotland’s health secretary, Alex Neil, has ordered health boards to cut back on purchases of care from the private sector, even though levels are already far below those in England.

By Keith Aitken in Edinburgh | 20 January 2014

Scotland’s health secretary, Alex Neil, has ordered health boards to cut back on purchases of care from the private sector, even though levels are already far below those in England.

The new guidance came as a Scottish Government report revealed that Scotland’s 21 NHS boards exceeded efficiency savings targets last year by £270m, taking the total of savings ploughed back into services in Scotland over the past five years to more than £1.1bn.

Neil has told health boards that he expects them to clamp down further on the use, which is already reducing, of private provision to treat NHS patients. Boards will now be required to submit forward plans for all such spending, which will have to be agreed with the Scottish Government.

The contrast with England is already striking. In Scotland, NHS spend on private healthcare provision is expected to drop in the current financial year from £28m (around 0.8% of the overall health budget) to around £250m, and Neil wants further reductions to come. In England, however, some 9.5% of public sector health budget was spent with the private sector in 2011/12.

‘In Scotland, our use of the private sector is already far lower than that in England, and I am determined to drive this down further,’ Neil said.

‘I have been very clear with all NHS health boards that I expect them to take every action possible to ensure that the private sector is only used in exceptional circumstances.

‘I recognise that there are times where it is not possible for the patient to be treated by the NHS within a reasonable timescale, but these arrangements should only be used in the margins and should not be the norm,’ he insisted.

 Scottish ministers are eager to talk up the differences between devolved healthcare policy in Scotland and the more market-driven approach adopted south of the border.

Neil said: ‘We are continuing to protect funding for our NHS, and invest in providing frontline care. Health resources in Scotland are at record high of £11.8bn and by 2015/16 there will have been an increase in resource spending of £2.1bn since 2007.

‘While we are striving to become more efficient with taxpayers’ money, we remain committed to protecting spending on health, and our latest £12.1bn resource budget reflects a funding increase in real terms for both 2014/15 and 2015/16.’

‘This should be seen in stark contrast to the competition, privatisation and complicated reforms being introduced in England that I believe threaten the very foundations on which the NHS is built.’

 

 

 

 

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