Cartoon by Awry
More private company contracts to be signed off by North Tyneside CCG?
The one year evaluation of the presence of the private business “Livi” in North Tyneside Primary Care has now been completed by North Tyneside CCG, and
“North Tyneside CCG, following an evaluation exercise, has extended the Livi pilot contract while it procures a ‘Complementary GP Video Consultation Service’ for North Tyneside”. North Tyneside CCG website (September 2021)
Unsurprisingly, members of KONPNE remain angry that North Tyneside CCG have seen fit to extend this contract to this private business for a further period, and members remain wary that the future procurement of this or a similar service will firmly embed privatised services within Primary Care across the Borough. £2.25 million over five years is the cash on the table….and how much of this will go to shareholders….?
“We do not see the evidence that “Livi” has been a great addition as a complementary service. What we see is a predatory private company with its foot wedged in the door of Primary Care in North Tyneside and an ambition to further expand its service” KONPNE (3rd November 2021)
There is no doubt that our Primary Care services require more resources and investment, and this should now be provided to existing, localised GP services – North Tyneside CCG should not be wasting taxpayers money by contracting out to private, profit making companies with shareholders. It is crucial that, now, the North Tyneside CCG focus needs to be on investing in the existing North Tyneside Primary Care teams. Investment should be made to develop our existing GP services, including employing additional staff for these local services – the pandemic has led to many North Tyneside practices developing their own in-house video call and telephone work and this service (and others) could be enhanced. Please write to North Tyneside CCG with your views – more information and contacts are here.
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CLICK HERE
to read the full KONP North East response (3rd November 2021) to the CCGs Livi evaluation
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Copies of our response have been forwarded to North Tyneside CCG, North Tyneside Councillors, North Tyneside Healthwatch, Mary Glindon MP, Alan Campbell MP, North Tyneside groups and organisations, plus local media (Chronicle, Look North, KONPNE social media)
We believe that contracts with private businesses all sit on a slippery privatisation slope, and usually end up in the same place for patients. This issue is covered in the following linked article, and is currently in the news; this situation must be avoided. OpenDemocracy (25th November 2021) Website for booking NHS appointments offers mostly private healthcare
The report on the following link seems a possible way forward: click here for information about the digital hubs being set up by Northumbria Healthcare Trust from October 2021….a local project along these lines serving North Tyneside Primary Care would be a good starting point, and NOT the anonymous Livi private business model, provided by GPs on phones hundreds of miles away, and with profits going to shareholders….
North Tyneside CCG in the national press
Read the article in the December 2021 edition of the national Health Campaigns Together newspaper:
The full “Health Campaigns Together” bulletin can be accessed online here. Scroll up and down, or click on the 9 squares to toggle through the pages. This version is also mobile-friendly, Please share widely on facebook, twitter and instagram.
And while we’re about it……
ONE HAPPY FAMILY? KONPNE disagrees with North Tyneside CCGs warm and glowing portrayal of private providers as being part of a rosy and cosy “NHS family” (North Tyneside CCG: “Livi: Complementary GP Video Consultation Service Pilot Evaluation” page 33). The reality is, of course, very different. We strongly object to the insidious privatisation of the NHS: North Tyneside CCG should not be wasting taxpayers money by contracting out to private, profit making companies with shareholders.
konpnortheast.com 