Unions force pre-election retreat from government in behind-the-scenes deal
from the NHS Support Foundation
With an election approaching the bargaining power of the unions is at its peak and they have capitalised by ringing a concession from the government in a crucial area of NHS privatisation – community health services.
In a sudden change of heart, ministers have told health unions that the NHS, not the private sector, should be seen as the “preferred provider” for PCT community services.
Community health care, such as district nursing, has become the front-line of the battle against privatisation with the Government earlier setting deadlines for PCTs to put services out to tender.
Those deadlines have now been scrapped, and in backroom talks at the TUC conference Andy Burnham, the health secretary, has assured unions that PCTs will regard the NHS as the preferred provider for those services. According to UNISON, he has also claimed that the government is not “ideologically wedded” to the private sector. UNITE are now pushing for clarification.on all market reform of the NHS.
Health unions, who along with the British Medical Association have strengthened their position by uniting once again under the banner of NHS Together, believe this is a significant change that staff and campaigners can use when pressuring pro-privatisation PCTs to not tender services in the first place. It is suggested that the burden of proof could be on PCTs to show that their own in-house services are not good enough before they can outsource them.
The government no doubt hopes the partial retreat will head off an autumn of confrontation and pave the way for the unions to come into line for the election campaign. With manifestos being drafted policy is unusually fluid.
The NHS Support Federation believes that compared to the scale of the patchwork privatisation of the health service this is a small victory. It does not preclude PCTs from handing services over to the private sector if they want to. However it could at least slow the process in the coming nine months, but only if the unions’ efforts are backed up by local campaigning and vigilance.
