Government is spending vast amounts to combat Covid-19, but there is a reluctance to use this money to rebuild public services – a long-term investment that would benefit us all through the duration of this crisis and beyond.
Instead we see NHS laboratories under-used in favour of non-NHS mega-laboratories.
https://lowdownnhs.info/comment/why-bypass-nhs-labs-for-mass-testing-concerns-over-new-super-labs/
We see huge amounts spent to sustain private hospitals while NHS staff have inadequate personal protective equipment.
https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/news/tracking-impact-covid-19-workforce
And we see Local Authorities facing the double pressure of supporting increased costs of an already creaking social care system and maintaining communities, while losing income from sports centres, parking and business rates and wholly inadequate support from central government.
We still have a framework of public servants who could deliver this work, if they were trusted to do so. It would cost less than outsourcing. Private businesses have a role to play in supporting our public services, but they must not replace them.
Colin Hutchinson
Chair, DFNHS
28th April 2020
Comments are closed.