NHS – Another plum for privatisation
WORKERS, APR 2006 ISSUE
After sneaking through the privatisation of oxygen supplies to patients at Christmas 2005 (which only became newsworthy when patients started dying in February), the government has now announced its privatisation proposals for NHS Logistics, which supplies the NHS, stocking over 42,000 products and fulfilling over 30 million orders a year.
Its services are tailor-made for hospital and NHS delivery. In 2005 it generated over £3 million for the NHS. It is run on a non-profit basis and is a model of excellence in supply, use of IT for on-line ordering and delivery, management and staff partnership. It employs 1,400 workers in five strategic depots covering England.
Now the service is to be market-tested, privatised and handed over to DHL, a private delivery and transport company. Why? Because it is successful and is seen as a morsel which nobody will notice being swallowed up in the bigger picture of the wrecking of the NHS.