Circle CEO calls for more privately-run hospitals

 

Andrew Woodcock
Wednesday 01 August 2012 06:19 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The chief executive of the first private company to take charge of an NHS district general hospital today said he would like to see the model extended across the health service in England.

Six months after Circle took over the struggling Hinchingbrooke Hospital Trust in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, it has become "one of the best in the country" for quality and is on course to balance its books financially next year, said Ali Parsa.

But health union Unison warned that the company's arrival has led to a cut in cleaning and increased job insecurity for staff, which could be detrimental to patient care.

Circle needs a surplus of £70 million over the next 10 years to make a profit at Hinchingbrooke, but Mr Parsa said this would only happen after the hospital's projected losses of £230 million are eliminated.

The Circle model, under which the company is "co-owned" by its workers and clinicians are given decision-making powers within the hospital, should "absolutely" be extended more widely across the NHS, he said. Asked if Circle would like to run more NHS hospitals, he replied: "We would love it."

Mr Parsa told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We believe our partners - doctors, nurses, healthcare professionals - should run their own hospitals.

"Look at Germany, where private companies run more hospitals than government does and satisfaction with their health service is significantly higher than here.

"I think we need to take private/public, the ideology, out of the health service and let the NHS provide free at the point of delivery care."

Defending the introduction of private sector practices into the public health service, Mr Parsa said: "The British economy is losing £170 billion a year. If a company came in and said, 'I can save all that money for the British taxpayer and in return I want 10%', I would do that deal as a taxpayer, any day. That's the deal we did with the NHS."

Karen Jennings, assistant general secretary of Unison, told Today: "Unison challenged the notion that Circle should take over Hinchingbrooke, but they are now managing it and we are working with them.

"I think it's right that Hinchingbrooke celebrates these very, very early successes, but I do need to point out that one of the ways that they started to save money - and this was one of our fears - was that through newly negotiated contracts with outsourced cleaning services, they have made cuts.

"That means that there's going to be cuts in cleaning staff, a vital and critical group of staff to ensure that there's no cross-infection at the hospital.

"These are very, very early signs of concerns we had about a private management firm taking over."

Ms Jennings added: "Well done to Hinchingbrooke - and that includes Circle and all the staff - for where they've got to now. But I have to say that staff are a little bit nervous. There are talks about voluntary severance, and there is a large cut in the number of cleaning staff.

"That's very concerning because one of the promises that was made was that there would be not cuts in services. This is a particular problem across England in terms of the way the contracts are now being negotiated, because they are looking at the cheapest rather than the best standards."

Mr Parsa said cleaning services had been cut only in offices and residential accommodation for staff at the hospital. Cleaning of hospital wards had increased "substantially", with more cleaning staff in clinical areas, he said.

Cleaners are allocated to specific units to give them "ownership" of the areas where they work, said Mr Parsa, who added that he would be "gobsmacked" if any of them had seen their pay cut as a result of the changes.

Further savings have been made in procurement, for instance cutting £1.6 million off the trust's spending on paper, he said.

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in