I recently shared an article about NHS privatisation written by DR JULIA GRACE PATTERSON💙founder and Chief Executive of EveryDoctor. EveryDoctor is a doctor-led campaign organisation fighting for a better NHS. They believe
- in a future NHS where every patient is safe and every staff member is supported.
- in an NHS that remains in public ownership, free at the point of delivery.
- that the UK government should halt and reverse NHS privatisation. No one should be seeking to profit from public healthcare.
Head on over to EveryDoctor to see the brilliant work they’re doing, and get involved. In the meantime, Dr Julia wants to tell us about the amount of public money that is being funnelled into the private mental health sector.
The following is all Dr Julia’s work
and she writes:
This is a subject that is close to my heart, because my background is as a psychiatry doctor. I think of mental health as one of the “canaries in the mine” for the NHS. What was happening in NHS mental health services ten years ago is what has now happened across the board; underfunding, under-investment, loss of key staff, and privatisation.
If you’re working in a socially deprived area, and many of your patients are extremely unwell and extremely vulnerable, you see the impact of politicians’ bad decisions, because they impact peoples’ lives in huge and horrible ways. I looked after people who did not have a solid social architecture; a network of people keeping them well, safe, and cared for. In those circumstances, when you cut away public services, you are cutting away their safety. It’s that simple.
How private companies are receiving vast amounts of money
Ten years ago, mental health patients faced overcrowding on wards, or their support worker had such a large caseload that they didn’t receive enough attention, or they had to travel a long way from home to get the care they desperately needed.
What is happening now, ten years on? I bet you can guess. Private companies have swooped in, to “help”, and there are now vast sums of public money making their way into private companies who are propping up the NHS in various ways.
Why it’s bad that mental health serivces are still being outsourced
● Because private companies skim off the services or treatments that can generate the most profit, leaving the NHS to provide the costly, complex treatment.
● Because the tendering of contracts is burdensome, bureaucratic and expensive. Guess who foots the bill? The NHS of course.
● Because if it doesn’t work out for a private company, they can exit, creating turmoil for local patients and staff alike.
● Because in psychiatry there are various subspecialties, for example child and adolescent in-patient psychiatry, older adult care, or psychiatric intensive care. These services are not being planned properly to allow equal NHS provision
across the country. NHS patients being treated in private facilities often have to
travel far from home, away from the local support teams and away from their loved ones, who struggle to visit. All of this impacts on a patient’s ability to get better and get home safely.
EveryDoctor is now researching how much public money is finding its way to the private mental health sector, and the findings are staggering.
How much money is spent on private mental health hospital beds
We haven’t finished this work (it’s complicated and time-consuming), but here’s just one example we’ve found so far:
We asked NHS Trusts how much money they are spending on private mental health hospital beds for patients. One trust has said that in 2019 they spent £2,695,544. In 2023, they spent £14,082,289. This is staggering, and it’s happening because NHS mental health beds have been cut back so significantly by the Conservative government since 2010.
We are working as hard and as quickly as we can on this research, because privatisation is bad for patients, bad for NHS staff, and bad for the future of the NHS. The only way we will hold politicians to account effectively is if we show them the facts, and demand better. Every single person in this country deserves better than this. Thank you so much for being a member of EveryDoctor and helping us to do this work!
Over to you
The above article makes me so bloody angry. And it should make you angry too. One trust has said that in 2019 they spent £2,695,544. In 2023, they spent £14,082,289. Abso-bloody-lutely staggering indeed! And right under our noses! What are your thoughts on our wonderful free NHS? ny thoughts? If you’re in the UK, will you get involved in EveryDoctor‘s campaign to keep our NHS Public?
The healthcare system sucks if I’m being honest. We have private healthcare so no government involvement. One issue I hear about often is how long it takes to get appointment and when you need mental health support they are only given so many weeks of care. I hope it works out but I don’t see how poor people will get support. 🙂
The same here with the waiting time; often longer than 6 months and yes, they only get six sessions with a therapist, which isn’t long enough in many cases. I was lucky, when I first became mentally unwell, my GP got me to see a Consultant Psychiatrist friend of his at our local hospital and I was seen every week for almost three years. Then I used the NHS 6 weeks therapy whenever I needed to 🙂 That’s so bad that you only have private healthcare; how are people supposed to find £80-£100 per session?
I think it’s so messed up they won’t be able to do it. Many people will be left out. Have a great day. 🙂
You too my lovely 🙂
Really makes me mad too. Healthcare should be a basic human right, not something private companies can use to take advantage of. We have both public and private healthcare here but private healthcare is definitely not affordable for a big chunk of the general public. And because we have private healthcare that brings in profits the public healthcare is pushed aside and is in terrible condition.
We have private too but it’s so expensive – I don’t know how people can afford it, unless they have get private healthcare through their work? Yep, profits before patients…. aargh!
makes my blood boil!
Same here, you have to be at the very least upper middle class to afford private healthcare or have a very good insurance.
Gosh, this isnt good at all! And here I was thinking the NHS was better than the health care system in Ireland! Now I’m not so sure!
It would be terrific if only the goverment gave the money direct to our NHS! It’s dreadful what’s happening 🙁