Warning – giant private healthcare companies decide how local health services are provided – beware Regulation 75

Bronwen Handyside, Hackney Coalition to Save the NHS

Three years ago our local City & Hackney GP Out of Hours Service was taken away from local doctors, and handed over to Harmoni (a company on which the Guardian recently ran a series of articles, questioning the quality o f its service).

Harmoni was recently taken over by giant private healthcare company Care UK, which in turn is run by private equity firm Bridgepoint – see information on Care UK from Corporatewatch website http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=4319

Our local City & Hackney doctors have worked for two years to put together a new not-for-profit social enterprise (City& Hackney Urgent Healthcare Social Enterprise – CHUHSE) , which involves City and Hackney doctors varying their contract in order to provide an Out of Hours service. These are hard-working GPs who have decided – on the principle of providing a quality local health service – that they will resume the responsibility for Out of Hours Care. The service will be non-profit – i.e. local doctors are prepared to give up their evenings and weekends to ensure local people get the quality and continuity of service they need.

This new Out of Hours Service was discussed with our PCT Cluster (North East London & the City NHS) and with the City & Hackney CCG at every step of the way, and was due to come into operation on 1 April 2013.

Now – suddenly – upon “advice from lawyers” – the outgoing PCT Cluster says our Out of Hours service cannot be given to CHUHSE.

Our local heathe campaign (City& Hackney Coalition to Save the NHS -launched by Hackney Keep Our NHS Public, and including some dozen local groups, City & Hackney BMA, NPC, Hackney LINk, patients’ groups, local Labour party, unions etc) has drawn up an Open Letter to Cameron and Hunt about this – pointing out the blatant deceptions in the Health & Social Care Act about giving local doctors and local people a choice over what happens to local health services.

In City & Hackney’s case this has been a joke – the power deciding what our local healthcare will be is the threat of giant private healthcare companies with huge resources and motivation taking out pro-competition cases. The consultation with “stakeholders” organised by the outgoing PCT cluster involved the chairs of the City & Hackney LINks and one person from the Older People’s Reference Group – all of whom expressed their opposition to the plan of commissioning the service out to private healthcare companies like Harmoni.Nonetheless the outgoing PCT cluster steamed ahead – so much for consultation!

City & Hackney’s local communities have expressed their opposition to privatisation of local health services many times – in a 3000 word petition we collected in 2009, in an 1800 strong petition we collected in 2012, and in a series of public meetings and demonstrations – most recently a 200 strong meeting at which a “Community Pledge” against NHS privatision was passed (see report in Hackney Gazette of this meeting http://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/hackney_doctors_go_out_on_a_limb_to_fight_government_s_nhs_reform_plans_1_1652580)

We think this is a blindingly obvious case – of local democratic decisions ripped from the control of local doctors (contrary to Cameron and Hunt’s weasel words) and local people, and handed over to a huge private company – about whose services there are and have been many complaints, and even deaths which can be ascribed to poor quality services.

We are being told (basically) that we have to wait until someone dies before we can object to this service – let alone the prospect of the fate of the Southern Cross Care Homes when the private equity company controlling Care UK rips off the profits it wants and dumps the company and the services it provides.

Our campaign has produced an open letter http://www.scribd.com/doc/126616153/open-letter-to-david-cameron-and-jeremy-hunt publicising this flagrant breach of local democracy to Cameron and Hunt for which we are gathering signatures from local people, politicians etc. Doctors involved in the local out of hours enterprise are appealing the decision.