Franchising NHS Management Is Over Optimistic

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 11 Jun 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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Franchising operational management is not a new idea but it may be an over optimistic view of private versus public sector management, says the NHS Alliance.

It could be helpful as a means of supporting failing organisations - though we have still to learn exactly what "failing" means - but results need to be independently assessed to establish how effectively public good is balanced against shareholder profits.

Any private sector company taking on NHS Trust management must remain fully accountable to an NHS Board with a lay majority. And commercial confidentiality should not be used to dilute transparency where public money is at issue.

Before contracts are agreed, there is a need for robust means of establishing whether those replacing NHS management have the competencies needed to run hospitals and PCTs.

NHS Alliance chairman Dr Michael Dixon said:

"The complexities of NHS management will be a completely new challenge for any external company.

"Of course incompetent and inept management should be replaced - as should incompetent clinicians - but getting systems right and ensuring managers have the necessary skills is more important than punishment therapy.

"It is a testimony to the expertise of NHS managers and clinicians that 99% of the NHS is brilliantly managed. We should celebrate that and avoid sending messages that public is bad while private is good."

Notes

1. The NHS Alliance is a collaboration of clinicians, managers and board members who put patients first. It is the independent body that represents NHS primary care. Values based, it is the only organisation that brings together PCTs with GP practices, clinicians with managers and Board members, and NHS primary care with its patients. The Alliance membership and its hard working national executive is fully multi-professional.

2. Measures to allow the removal of "poor" managers and to bring private sector management to "failing" NHS Trusts are included in Developing the NHS Performance Regime, published by the Department of Health 4th June.

NHS Alliance