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The new Coalition government has introduced sweeping reforms in the NHS. Experts suggest that those reforms dealing with pay and staffing will open the door for private sector healthcare providers to play a larger role in the provision of NHS services.

Private Sector Support

Many private sector providers already offer a number of small scale services to GPs. In the new government reforms GPs will have more power to allocate spending budgets and this could provide private sector providers will new opportunities to gain NHS contracts.

GP Spending

Under the new budgeting arrangements the government are aiming to cut down on the management level bureaucracy which has plagued the NHS for a number of years now. Management positions in the NHS were increased to try and deal with efficiency and productivity issues. Unfortunately this got out of control and the NHS became, as the Health secretary Andrew Lansley recently stated, ‘stifled by a culture of top-down bureaucracy”. This left the NHS unable to function effectively as it become crippled by unachievable targets and too many conflicting bureaucratic procedures.

The decision to close the Primary Care Trusts currently in charge of the bulk of local level NHS spending has seen a move towards what the Coalition government is calling a new ‘Social Enterprise’ Model. Although this could mean the loss of tens of thousands of public sector health worker jobs the government believes this a necessary measure to start getting NHS spending back under control.

Under the new arrangements GPs will be put in charge of the main hospital and community care spending decisions. GPs will be formed into consortiums and given control of what is currently a spending budget of almost £80 billion. This Social Enterprise model will welcome private sector applications for contracts as long as providers can offer value for money and quality services. This could create a boost in private sector services that could benefit patients and the economy alike.

Accountability

The new Social Enterprise model will be overseen by an independent NHS commissioning board. This will be set up to ensure quality and accountability. Updated national guidance is being drafted to lead this new spending structure and the commissions board will report back directly to ministers.

Aims and Goals

The Social Enterprise is a brave move for the NHS and aims to bring spending back into the control of frontline staff who understand the unique pressures and needs of healthcare in the local communities. The goal is to create an NHS that can work freely and without restrictions in the future. This will mean that public healthcare can be available to everyone but not at a cost that will cripple the economy as it has done in recent years.

Andrew Lansley has stated that this new enterprise model will help to ensure that “every area of the country has the NHS services it needs to provide a comprehensive service to all. The Care Quality Commission will safeguard standards of safety and quality.”

The new Coalition government is keen to show that they have what it takes to finally sort out the NHS and bring public sector spending back under control.

The transitional period during which these reforms will be introduced could see disruption and upheaval to NHS healthcare.