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Big Society runs off the rails in the NHS
The Government’s ‘Right to Provide’ scheme was intended to encourage social enterprise within the National Health Service to improve efficiency and save money.
To date there have only been three applications under the scheme and the biggest of them, a £450 million bid from Central Surrey Health, has lost out to a private concern.
A leading Government advisor has warned today that if projects do not receive support the scheme will be viewed as a ‘rat trap’ by social entrepreneurs.
Robert Ashton said: “Recent events make this scheme look more like a rat trap than a spring board.”
“People are viewing it as a way of distributing small grants as bait to lure folk out of the NHS to a place where they can be inhumanely despatched.”
“Surely, Government procurement needs to be biased to favour these pioneers if we are going to encourage them. Currently, it’s just looking like the situation that Government created with train manufacturer Bombardier all over again!”
Central Surrey Health, one of the best-known NHS social enterprises, lost out in its £450 million bid to run community services in Surrey. The Cabinet Office had previously praised the company for its cost cutting.
“The Government encourages NHS teams all round the country to exercise their ‘right to provide’ their services as a social enterprise, only a handful are brave enough to take the step, then the biggest and best known loses a £450m NHS contract presumably scuppering them completely,” said Mr Ashton.
“I think the Big Reality is that voters need to pressurise the coalition to follow through on their promises and not shaft enterprising, health-care professionals.”
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