BMA sceptical of plans to divert care to private sector
Current pressures on private doctors means there is no guarantee that diverting more patients to the independent sector will cut NHS backlogs, according to the BMA.
It warned that planned expansion of independently run community diagnostic centres was no substitute for investment in the NHS workforce.
The association claimed any expansion of community diagnostics centres needed careful implementation to ensure it does not just shift the problem – resulting in longer waiting times for private patients needing treatment and still not making a significant difference to the NHS backlog.
Dr Latifa Patel
Its comments came in response to the Government’s announcement of further investment into the expansion of community diagnostic centres in the independent sector to tackle NHS waiting lists in England.
BMA workforce lead Dr Latifa Patel agreed more should be done to help those on waiting lists with whatever capacity was available, but she voiced concerns over how plans for the expansion of the use of the independent sector to cut diagnostic waiting lists would work.
Not enough staff
‘We do not have enough staff working in the NHS or the private sector. Doctors working in the private sector are also under pressure, so there is no guarantee that diverting more patients to the independent sector will cut NHS backlogs.
‘Any expansion of community diagnostics centres needs to be carefully implemented to ensure that it does not just shift the problem – resulting in longer waiting times for private patients needing treatment and still not making a significant difference to the NHS backlog.’
She added that the Government’s goal should ultimately be long-term investment in the NHS to ensure the best possible value for public money and a sustainable healthcare system that avoided an overreliance on the independent sector.
‘We currently have a situation where both consultants and junior doctors are taking industrial action over years of pay erosion. It makes little sense to invest more into the independent sector but ignore the major crisis facing the current NHS workforce who can actually care for these patients and help to cut waiting lists.’
Dr Patel said diagnostics was just one part of the problem, and even with an earlier diagnosis, there was still the issue of how patients referred for treatment would be seen.
She called for:
More evidence of how current community diagnostic centres had performed before making plans to maximise their capacity, and
Details on how plans to increase the use of the independent sector in training junior NHS staff would work.