Privatisation plan for care scrapped
NHS bosses have abandoned plans to hand Halton’s urgent care contract to a private company following an outcry.
The proposals were revealed by Mike Amesbury, Labour MP for Weaver Vale, in early June as he vowed to fight the move.
NHS Halton Clinical Commissioning Group had been poised to award the contract for Runcorn Urgent Care Centre (UCC) at Halton Hospital and Widnes UCC on Caldwell Road to a private bidder following a competitive tender.
But Dr Andrew Davies, Halton CCG chief officer, has now confirmed in a letter to Mr Amesbury and Halton MP Derek Twigg that the CCG governing body has decided ‘to abandon’ the move.
Dr Davies said the existing NHS providers will continue to run the centres ‘in the interim’ - NHS Warrington And Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WHH) in Runcorn, and Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in Widnes.
NHS Halton CCG has denied a rumour that the contract was to be awarded to a US firm.
WHH, Bridgewater and St Helens And Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust have confirmed they were involved in the bidding for the contract.
Protests took place at Runcorn Town Hall and outside both urgent care
● units amid the uproar over the privatisation plans during June.
Mr Amesbury joined Unison protesters outside Halton General where he warned that NHS founder Aneurin Bevan would be ‘turning in his grave’ at the proposals, and also asked about the matter in parliament on Monday.
In a statement issued on Tuesday welcoming the reprieve, he said: “This should never have been on the agenda in the first place but I’m pleased to see they’ve seen sense.
“This was part of what I fear is the creeping privatisation of our precious NHS.
“This is an important victory and just goes to show what can be achieved when we all work together to fight for our NHS.”
NHS Trust stops offering price list of operations after move sparks national outrage
On Monday, Mr Amesbury asked Health Secretary Matt Hancock if privatising the Runcorn UCC was part of his plan.
Mr Hancock replied that he supported the NHS being free at the point of use, adding that ‘the most important principle at stake is how to deliver the best possible services for our constituents’.
Writing on Facebook on Monday, Mr Twigg said he had been asking questions to the CCG and intended to ask more.
He added that he will continue to lobby for NHS organisations to run the centres.
A Halton CCG spokesman said: “The procurement concluded on June 17, 2019, following which we entered into the ‘stand still’ period. The purpose of the stand still period is to provide all bidders with an opportunity to consider the outcome and if felt appropriate put forward a challenge.
“During the stand still period we were asked to consider a number of points by the unsuccessful bidders.
“We are confident that the outcome was correct, however considering the technicalities raised within the unsuccessful bidders letter and the impact of a legal process, in terms of cost to the NHS and more importantly the delay in implementing a new service model to improve patient care, the CCG governing body took the decision to abandon the current procurement whilst future options are being considered. Making sure that local people receive the best possible care remains to be paramount, and when considering next steps this will remain at the heart of our decision making.”
The controversy came as WHH agreed to pause a controversial scheme offering paid-for ops, such as around £7,000 for hip replacements or £8,500 for knee surgery.
WHH insisted it was for ‘low clinical priority’ surgery only.