Quote:
Originally Posted by heero_yuy
You're quite right to highlight the dodgy PFI initiatives of the last decade. These seem to have been entered into by the naive and the private companies have run rings round the civil servants. Shiney new facilities have come on line and made the politicians look good but the bills are still to be picked up by subsequent administrations.
I conden the morons who signed the contracts, not the companies who took advantage of free money, it is what their shareholders expect them to do.
That does not detract from the fact that competition between providers will drive down costs to the NHS. You can argue that it also drives down wages but that is the inevitable result.
You could of course keep everything in the NHS and double the wages but if the budget remains the same, and in these straitened times it has to, then halve the number of medics, porters, nurses, doctors...
|
Will competition drive down costs though PFI contracts were awared only after ahem competition rather then drive down prices they seem to have increased, as you said the private companies see public money as a free bonanza.
They may well decrease the size of the wage bill but one things for sure they will not cut down on their profit bill,and instead of money being directed at staff shareholders will see a windfall.
I would not suggest keeping things as they are however behind the scenes big changes are currently happening, with in effect PCTs being stripped and a layer of management is going and GPs being put in charge of comissioning,for good or bad although many seem quite reluctant.