Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley says, “NHS managers are abusing the system by making patients wait longer for treatment.”

Mr Lansley was speaking out after a competition watchdog criticised the way non-emergency operations such as hip replacements, were being run.

The Co-operation and Competition Panel (CCP), said, “Some primary care trusts had introduced minimum waiting times to save money and level-down performance.”

It said, “Some patients were forced to go private or died before they got care.” However in response to this, NHS managers reacted angrily to the claim.  

David Stout, director of the Primary Care Trust Network, said, “Making claims without evidence that patients are dying as a result of longer waiting lists will cause unnecessary public anxiety and alarm.”

“Commissioners take very seriously their role to ensure that patient health is not put at risk waiting for the care they need.”

Despite the claims, the panel did not name any of the individual trust nor was it able to say how many places were in fact adopting such practices. 

Furthermore, the claim of patients dying before being treated is unclear because as there is no record of what patients were dying from, as the treatment they were waiting for was non life-saving care. 

However, the report cited an anonymous example where one trust was insisting patients wait at least 15 weeks for treatment. Despite patients having to wait 15 weeks for treatment, this still falls within the 18-week time frame to be seen, even though many hospitals can see patients more quickly than that. 

Mr Lansley said, “The findings justified his reform programme, which aims to put doctors in charge of decision making.”

“This is exactly why we need to put patients’ interests first.”

“Too many PCTs have been operating in a cynical environment where they can game the system – and in which political targets, particularly the maximum 18 week waiting time target, are used to actually delay treatment.”

“When GPs, specialist doctors and nurses are making the decisions, as they will under our plans, they will plan care on the basis of the clinical needs of patients and their right to access the best service, including the least possible waiting time.”

One of the effects of minimum waiting times is money can be saved by scheduling treatment to be carried out in the next financial year. 

Furthermore, since 2006 patients have had the right to choose where they go for treatment including approved private hospitals. However private health firms seeing NHS patients have argued it erodes their competitive advantage because they are often able to see patients more quickly compared to NHS hospitals and by making patients wait longer for treatment erodes their competitive advantage. 

In addition to looking into waiting times, the CCP report also looked at an array of other anti-competitive and patient unfriendly practices currently being employed by NHS trusts, as well as introducing minimum waiting times. These included giving local NHS hospitals guaranteed levels of treatment, rationing the range of treatments private hospitals could provide to the NHS and capping the number of patients that could go outside the local area.

PCTs had argued the measures were needed to protect local hospitals.

With the government continuing to come under attack over its NHS Reforms such as the recent report by the Co-operation and Competition Panel, the NHS of the future is far from being resolved. There are many within the healthcare profession including clinicians and managers who feel that an NHS that is more open to competition can only be a good thing. 

Patient care and the right choice of treatment for patients will become more open as NHS hospitals compete with private health firms to deliver the best treatment for their patients. GPs and GP Locums will be able to shop around to ensure their patients’ needs are met and that the cost of treatment is competitive and value for money. 

With more competition, advocates of a more open competitive NHS could see more doctor, GP and GP locum jobs being created as health care providers adapt and change to provide more services and flexibility that fits with their patients’ working lifestyle. 

As the NHS continues to modernise and change under the current government, MPP Locums continues to provide healthcare professionals and locum staff across the UK to NHS Trusts and Private Healthcare providers. 

Established over 10 years ago, MPP Locums is one of the largest and fastest growing specialist recruitment agencies in the UK. 

MPP Locums is an approved supplier of locum doctor jobs, doctor jobs to the NHS under the National Locum contract starting 1st July for the next three years. MPP Locums is regulated by the care Quality Commission and The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA).

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