Virgin deal would undermine other NHS services, says judge

Virgin deal would undermine other NHS services, says judge

Lancashire county council’s award of a £104m contract to Virgin Care would “significantly” undermine the incumbent NHS trusts’ ability to maintain other services, a judge has said. HSJ brief header... We've been saying this all along, and its no different to when a hospital trust loses one its services to the private sector - for example the urgent care and other contracts. ■ A hospital trust losing a service to a non-NHS provider significantly undermines the trusts’ ability to maintain its other services (such as A&E). So based on the judges opinion of the social care children's contract, each time the CCG award an NHS contract to a non-NHS provider the NHS sinks deeper and deeper into debt. This begs the question of WHY Lancashire Teaching hospitals NHS foundation Trust aren't opposing the STP plans to close many of its services and transfer them out-of-hospital into to the community where they will be taken over by the private sector. The trust cannot afford to continue running these services in-house and at the same time attempting to make efficiency savings so they'll be relieved to hand over our NHS to "any qualified provider" as per the H&SC act 2012. This is why the Hospital Trusts in-house services for maintenance, buildings etc are proposed to be handed to a subsidiary company wholly owned by the trust as shareholders. It's not looking good is it? It needs resistance from every public sector worker and everyone in the community to stop this rot before our NHS is ripped out of our grasp before our very eyes.