West Sussex county councillors are due to discuss the proposed privatisation of local NHS musculoskeletal (MSK) services to BupaCSH at the Health & Social Care Committee (HASC) this Friday, 5 December. These services are worth £235m.
There is a public demonstration against the sale of this service starting at 9:30am at County Hall, Chichester (main entrance). All UNISON members are encouraged to take part.
The county council’s HASC committee meets at 10.30am to scrutinise the decision and make recommendations to government based on the Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG) advice.
The outsourcing of these services is likely to have significant impact on other services such as accident & emergency in Worthing and Chichester hospitals.
The CCG decision is even more concerning if BUPA’s recent performance within West Sussex is taken into account. In the summer of 2013, BUPA closed its Oakhurst Grange care home in Crawley due to a damning Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection report. The CQC found vulnerable elderly people lying soaked in their own urine, bed linen soiled with faeces, and many other examples of poor care.
This is a potentially landmark decision for the quality of NHS services in the local area. It’s vital we show support against the privatisation of MSK services to prevent a precedent being set for further NHS outsourcing.
Your support at the demonstration will be very welcome.