Health boards’ £40m private care bill
ALMOST £40 million has been paid to private hospitals in a desperate bid to prevent the collapse of the NHS, The Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The cash has been poured into the independent sector by health boards in an effort to cut a huge backlog of procedures caused by the pandemic, with more than 600,000 patients on NHS hospital waiting lists.
The biggest outlay has been from NHS Lanarkshire, which has so far spent almost £8 million. Private hospitals have taken up the slack for more than 100 cataract and eye surgeries and 100 orthopaedic procedures including hip and knee replacements.
NHS Fife is forking out £2,309 a day to outsource MRI scans. NHS Tayside has spent more than £1million on endoscopies and £70,000 on gynaecological procedures.
NHS Grampian has paid private companies more than £4 million, and recent procurement contract from NHS shows the health board is to spend £2 million ‘outsourcing’ endoscopy appointments to the private sector.
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Sandesh Gulhane said: ‘Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf have had to abandon their principles and bring in private providers to help tackle the waiting times crisis.
‘They cannot wait to decry private health care being used to treat Scotland’s patients, instead of being upfront about the money having to be shelled out by health boards. That is hypocrisy from the SNP.’
Labour health and Covid recovery spokesman Jackie Baillie said: ‘It’s galling to see public money being handed over to the private sector in such an ad hoc way to fulfil what should be routine NHS procedures.’
Figures obtained by The Scottish Mail on Sunday show £36 million has been paid to private hospitals during the pandemic so far. A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘This investment represents a small fraction of NHS spending on patient care, with well over £10 billion being spent this year by our frontline NHS on delivering health services to the people of Scotland.’