Doctors criticise waste of taxpayers’ money on private sector (From The Northern Echo)

Doctors criticise waste of taxpayers’ money on private sector

8:18am Thursday 11th March 2010 in

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LEADING doctors in the region have criticised what they claim is the waste of taxpayers’ money caused by the involvement of the private sector in NHS health care.

In a letter published by a North-East newspaper, GPs and hospital consultants from across the region have criticised the Government for squandering NHS resources on costly private treatment centres and privately-built hospitals which has left the region with huge debts.

The letter is signed by the chairmen and secretaries from the British Medical Association North-East Regional Council, as well as GPs and hospital consultants on Tyneside, Wearside and Northumberland.

The letter says: “Every day NHS staff see the waste of taxpayers’ money caused by politicians’ fixation with a market-based ideology.

“In the North-East, we have seen hundreds of thousands of pounds spent on private treatment centres despite the many examples of independent sector treatment centres, which are often run by large multi-national companies, being paid up front by the NHS for operations that have not even taken place and with the result of more profits to their shareholders.”

A Department of Health spokesman said the cost of undertaking long-term capital investment has always been spread over a number of years and PFI (private finance initiative) “is no different”.