The Guardian had a story from John Lister entitled: Andrew Lansley's NHS is all about private sector hype. It went on to analyse the news that Circle, a private company has been granted a £1bn contract to run the hospital for the next ten years.
John Lister writes:
The hype has come thick and fast from Circle Healthcare's smooth-talking boss, former Goldman Sachs banker Ali Parsadoust (known as Ali Parsa), who gives the impression that Circle is some kind of altruistic workers' co-operative, while in fact it is controlled by private equity and hedge funds. Far from handing control to the workers, Circle takes a negative view of trade unions and will have to resort to old-fashioned cuts in the workforce if it is to generate the "efficiency savings" it needs to put the hospital into surplus.
More hype has come from the architect of the contract, NHS East of England's director of strategy Dr Stephen Dunn, an enthusiastic advocate of private sector provision (which he denies is privatisation), whose unstinting efforts to secure this deal won him an award this year from HealthInvestor magazine.
Ummm! Difficult to understand how this Dr Stephen Dunn can say this is NOT privatisation! But then as Humpty Dumpty said:
When I use a word, ... it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
So, presumably Dr Dunn likes to travel Through the Looking-Glass hand in hand with Alice! Regrettably, the developing world of the new NHS is going that way as well!
Possibly, this company Circle is like another character in the Alice stories - the Walrus who gobbles up the little oysters! He did feel a bit sorry for them but he ate them all the same! Circle is convincing itself it is doing no harm as it gobbles up Hinchingbrooke! It is increasingly surprising how some people are able to convince themselves of almost anything!
John Lister's article continues:
Far from rescuing the NHS, Circle itself is heavily dependent upon the NHS: its main current income stream comes from an NHS contract. Circle's own business plan to expand its private hospitals relies on it continuing to build a workforce by poaching consultants, nurses and other staff trained by the NHS. And now Circle's future financial health depends on drawing profits from running one NHS hospital, and hopefully generating further contract income from the NHS – assuming Andrew Lansley's health bill successfully opens up the NHS to greater private sector involvement.
Quite a juggling act! Worthy of any Mad Hatter! If one were cynical, one might express doubts over the whole affair. Who exactly is going to gain what from whom? It seems unlikely that the NHS will be a winner.
John Lister writes:
The company will be under pressure to turn a profit. Ninety five per cent of the Circle Holdings is owned by a private equity and other city interests, including some of the world's biggest hedge funds and asset managers. Over the past six years they have funnelled a massive £140m into the company, for no return. They will want to limit further investment until they see results.
So the staff and services at Hinchingbrooke will be right in the firing line when Circle eventually takes over the reins next February.
How hard NHS staff will want to work at making surpluses for Circle is open to doubt. How many of them will lose their jobs and how many services will be sacrificed in the bid to make surpluses we can only wait and see.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/11/andrew-lansley-nhs-private-sector-circle
Anxiety about the contract was also voiced in the Mirror:
A British Medical Association spokeswoman said: “We are concerned about the potential pitfalls of this experiment. The Hinchingbrooke deal sets a worrying precedent that could lead to significant numbers of NHS hospitals being franchised to the private sector.”
And Louise Silverton, deputy general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, said it had “serious concerns about the potential impact of privatisation in the NHS”. She added: “We will be watching this very, very closely.”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/2011/11/11/nhs-hospital-takeover-by-private-firm-sparks-fury-as-1billion-goes-to-tory-fatcats-115875-23553024/#ixzz1dUaF3ZLm
Who and what exactly is this Circle? The boss, one Ali Parsa, whose name is, in fact, Ali Parsadoust was a former banker with Goldman Sachs. He waxes eloquent about what Circle will do for Hinchingbrooke. What he has not mentioned, however, is what Hinchingbrooke will do for Circle! It will surely be expected to help close up the socking great hole in Circle's resources! To do so will require either ruthless butchery or magic!
Maybe, Ali Parsa is in reality Ali Baba from the Thousand and One Nights and like the mythical man will get the money from somewhere! Maybe, ex-bankers from Goldman Sachs are not like leopards and they can change their spots. Maybe, he will pour money into the ailing Hinchingbrooke! Ummm!
On the Circle website, it is stated that the company is 'passionate' about its objectives including:
Pursuing our ambition to be the best healthcare provider is a never-ending process. 'Good enough' never is.
Now that's what I call pretty cool! One worry I have is that the images chosen by Circle for their website are as intangible as the world of Wonderland and the treasures of Ali Baba. They have chosen soap bubbles for their 'Credo' page! (http://www.circlepartnership.co.uk/about-circle/our-credo)
On the 'Circle Story' page they have selected an image of a crop circle! (http://www.circlepartnership.co.uk/about-circle/circle-story)
These images worry me and I think they should concern Hinchingbrooke Hospital too. Bubbles have a habit of bursting! Crop circles are a hoax!
You pays your money and you takes your choice! Humpty Dumpty would love it!
'Bye'
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