The Socialist 21 February 2008

No wage cuts! Fund equal pay

Troops out of Iraq now!

Stop the witch-hunt: Defend the Sheridan 7

Prison officers fight Labour's strike ban

Battle for Shropshire schools goes on

Coventry protests at Widdecombe's attacks

Football: Top of the League for greed

Northern Rock - Labour's reluctant nationalisation

1918-2008: Clause 4 and nine decades of workers' struggles

Record fall in home ownership

London's health care under further attack

Private clinics fail

Hospitals "stacking" patients

Fighting back and building a demo

"Not making sufficient profit"

Universities in crisis: Fees favour the rich

Exeter students fight privatisation

Nottingham defends democracy

Kosovan independence - a dangerous mirage?

Greece: Second general strike in two months

CWI school in Latin America

Science, Marxism and the big bang

It's official - Unison launches witch-hunt on Socialist Party

Socialist gains in Unison branch elections

Collection cuts and bullying equals bin strike!

Victory for council street wardens

Rail pension dispute

Union merger: OILC and RMT

Marching against single status

Solidarity with Pakistan workers

Previous issues, etc

Print this issue

PO Box 1398, Enfield EN1 9GT

020 8988 8777

[email protected]

Link to this page: https://archive.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/521/3797

Search the site	Printable version

Home | The Socialist 21 February 2008 | Join the Socialist Party

Subscribe | Donate

Private clinics fail

PRIVATE CLINICS such as the independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs) are able to haul in a guaranteed income even if they treat hardly any patients. Such clinics are being paid in full even though, a recent survey suggests, they do as little as half of the work specified in their contracts.

The government set up such centres in a flourish to do minor surgery and diagnostic tests, claiming that this would cut waiting lists. However, the survey showed that just four of the 25 clinics set up in the first wave of clinics are doing enough work; some were doing as little as half their contracted deals.

The first group, unlike NHS hospitals, are given lucrative contracts that guarantee them an income. The government forces public hospitals to 'compete', both with each other and with the private sector, then pays them on the basis of how many people are treated.

Clinics such as ISTCs have a protected life within the NHS while the public sector has to fight off constant attempts to cut back on services through harsh financial requirements.

In this issue

No wage cuts! Fund equal pay