The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) yesterday began a legal challenge to government plans to privatise the NHS by abolishing the role of Primary Care Trusts.
The RCN launched an application to be granted permission to apply for a judicial review of the government’s failure to carry out public consultation on the proposed changes to the role of Primary Care Trusts in England.
The RCN noted in a statement: ‘The government proposals, outlined in a document entitled Commissioning a Patient-led NHS (July 28 2005), stated that Primary Care Trusts’ role in provision of services will be “reduced to a minimum and that Primary Care Trusts will act as the provider of services only where it is not possible to have separate providers”.’
RCN General Secretary Dr Beverly Malone said the RCN was not satisfied with the government’s assurances so far.
She insisted: ‘It is not acceptable to state prescriptively that “the direction of travel is clear: PCTs will become patient-led and commissioning-led organisations with their role in provision reduced to a minimum.” (Commissioning a Patient-led NHS July 28)
‘The Secretary of State said on October 25: “District nurses, health visitors and other staff delivering clinical services will continue to be employed by their PCT unless and until the PCT decides otherwise.
The terms and conditions of staff will of course be protected”.
‘The problem here is that people making these local decisions have already had a very clear instruction on July 28 to reduce their provider role to a minimum.’
A UNISON nurse at the Royal Free Hospital, north London, who could not give her name for fear of victimisation, told News Line that she welcomed the RCN stand.
She said: ‘It’s disgraceful the way we are being treated, like second-class citizens. They decide what they want to do and we have to follow it through.
‘A hundred beds have been cut here, and nurses have had to find jobs on the wards, e.g. nurses who were on neurology for fifteen years are no longer able to do what their vocation was.’
UNISON member Chrissie Gardner of ‘Bristol Keep Our NHS Public’, a group of UNISON, Amicus and RCN trade unionists, told News Line yesterday: ‘The government talk about patient choice but the public and even parliament have not been consulted.
‘It will mean up to 75 per cent of NHS community health staff being employed by the private sector. The RCN are right to challenge the government.’
The TUC declined to comment yesterday. A spokesman said: ‘The RCN is not affiliated to the TUC, so it will be up to UNISON as a TUC health union to comment.’
A UNISON spokeswoman told News Line: ‘The RCN move shows the widespread anxiety and concern from nurses and community health staff over the government proposals.
‘UNISON has a national campaign which is getting widespread support. We are talking to MPs and others.
‘The sheer pace and scale of what the government is proposing means we have to act quickly.’
GMB National Officer for Health, Sharon Holder told News Line: ‘The GMB has consistently been opposed to privatisation of public services.
‘Clinical staff have up to now, not been subject to this kind of policy in practice.
‘This is the thin end of the wedge for the wholesale privatisation of the NHS.’