A STUDY of new contracts has exposed the “creeping privatisation of the NHS” in Bradford, it has been claimed.
One third of contracts awarded in the city since the government’s controversial health service overhaul have gone to private firms.
And across the district, more than half of tenders – 44 out of 84 – have gone to private companies, according to the analysis by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
In Bradford, podiatry, acute surgical services and respiratory support services have all been handed over by the clinical commissioning groups (CCGs).
Dr Mark Porter of the British Medical Association warned that services were becoming “fragmented”, with cash wasted on “costly, complicated tendering”.
Furthermore, the BMJ analysis shows that more of the 15 contracts awarded in Bradford, between April 2013 and August 2014 went to voluntary groups and social enterprises. Only two were retained – for mental health and a contract for podiatry.
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