Nhscareconcerns

The Conservative Party’s dream of a totally privatised National Health Service draws ever nearer with Jeremy Hunt’s declared intent to allow Accountable Care Organisations (ACOS) to operate in England, as they already do in the United States, with little or no evidence of any improvement in quality of care or savings to health budgets.

These ACOS could be awarded multi-billion pound contracts for ten to 15 years.

An absence of proposals to subject any of this to parliamentary scrutiny or public debate should set alarm bells ringing. It’s not so much creeping privatisation via the back door as a headlong rush.

The dismal record of privatised care homes in the United Kingdom has been well-documented. What can one now expect from these care organisations?

Mercifully, it’s not likely to happen in Scotland. JAMES STEVENSON Drummond Avenue,

Auchterarder