I’m not at all against using the private sector to help work through the current backlog.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather no private at all; but if the choice is between people dying/being in pain/being out of work/not being seen to for months or years, and people being cared for but some of it being private, then to me the answer is obvious. People’s wellbeing is more important than being 100% NHS handled.
But it should be just that, IMO. Using them to help in times of unprecedented increases in healthcare demand that the NHS cannot quickly ramp up to support.
Any proposals should also come with a longer-term plan for how the NHS can handle these treatments themselves in future. But I fear this won’t be the case, and this temporary solution could become a permanent one if there isn’t pressure from the public.
I’m not at all against using the private sector to help work through the current backlog.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather no private at all; but if the choice is between people dying/being in pain/being out of work/not being seen to for months or years, and people being cared for but some of it being private, then to me the answer is obvious. People’s wellbeing is more important than being 100% NHS handled.
But it should be just that, IMO. Using them to help in times of unprecedented increases in healthcare demand that the NHS cannot quickly ramp up to support.
Any proposals should also come with a longer-term plan for how the NHS can handle these treatments themselves in future. But I fear this won’t be the case, and this temporary solution could become a permanent one if there isn’t pressure from the public.