Its All Go For The Healthcare Industry
Outsourcing giant Serco has been recruited by healthcare bosses in Cornwall
, to provide out-of hours GP services for the next five years.
According to BBC News, the countys Primary Care Trust (PCT) recently confirmed Serco had won the 32m contract, having successfully proved itself capable of providing high-quality services; the company has supplied out-of-hours services to the Cornwall and Scilly Isles PCT since 2006.
However, Andrew George, the Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, insisted that a robust standards framework must be enforced to ensure the quality of care delivered is satisfactory. An inquest heard in September that a six-year-old boy from the Cornish village of Bugle had died last year after his parents were given incorrect advice by a Serco nurse.
It's very important that we get this right. Things have not always worked well, Mr George observed. I think we need to look at whether we're setting sufficient standards for our out-of-hours service.
It seems its not only Cornwalls PCT thats looked to outsourcing, as Irelands Department of Health has confirmed it is seeking to outsource too. According to The Journal, vacancies at Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick and University Hospital Galway have been put out to tender, with four out of the five bidders based in Britain. External staff hired will be answerable to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
In an interview with Galway FM, health minister James Reilly explained that an attempt at internal recruitment had proven largely unsuccessful and insisted the decision to outsource managerial roles would not have a detrimental impact on the delivery of patient care.
Were bringing in external managerial expertise to do three things: manage the hospital, grow new management underneath them, and upskill management, he said. For me and my department, the bottom line is about patients.
And, it doesnt stop there either, as bosses at an NHS trust in South Yorkshire have confirmed they are to outsource the laundry service at several hospitals across the county.
The Yorkshire Post reports that hospitals in Doncaster, Worksop and Mexborough will be affected by the move, which will see 28 members of staff transferred elsewhere. The Doncaster and Bassetlaw NHS Foundation Hospitals Trust hopes the decision will save 472,000 each year and insists there will be no redundancies.
Deciding to outsource any service is difficult, let alone one that staff feel passionately about, said chief executive Ron Calvert. But the Doncaster Royal Infirmary site needs investment of 2.2m to bring it up to 21st century standards. We can only spend the money once we either invest in the laundry or in direct patient care.
A spokesman confirmed that staff affected by the move will be redeployed in other departments, with much of the existing work done by temporary employees. Trust board members voted on the matter at a meeting held earlier this week.
Construction services group Carillion predicted in its latest trading statement that cutbacks in public sector expenditure are likely to result in significant outsourcing opportunities in 2012.
by: Tim Bisley
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