Independent sector treatment centres: learning from a Scottish case study

doi:10.1136/bmj.b1421

Published 30 April 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b1421
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b1421

Analysis

Independent sector treatment centres: learning from a Scottish case study

Allyson M Pollock, professor and director, Graham Kirkwood, research fellow

¹ Centre for International Public Health Policy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AG

Correspondence to: A M Pollock allyson.pollock@ed.ac.uk

The value for money of work contracted out to independent sectortreatment centres has been hard to assess. Allyson Pollock andGraham Kirkwood look at data from the only such centre in Scotland.

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Since 2000, the Department of Health has had an explicit policyof using NHS funds to contract out some elective surgery andassociated clinical services to the private for profit sector.This policy of commercialisation is known in England as theIndependent Sector Treatment Centre (ISTC) programme, underwhich the government intends that the private health care industrywill provide elective surgery and other clinical services ata projected total cost to the NHS of over £5bn ($7.3bn, ${euro}$ 5.6bn).¹ To date the government has contracted for £2.7bnworth of services.² The core objectives of the programme areto assist the NHS in reducing waiting times, support the shiftfrom primary to secondary care, expand the options for patientchoice in the provision of services, promote innovation, andbuild relationships between the NHS and the private sector.³

The policy has been extraordinarily difficult to evaluate becausefew data are publicly available.⁴ . . . [Full text of this article]

Add to CiteULike CiteULike Add to Complore Complore Add to Connotea Connotea Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us Add to Digg Digg Add to Reddit Reddit Add to StumbleUpon StumbleUpon Add to Technorati Technorati What's this?

Relevant Articles

What about independent sector treatment centres?: Allyson M Pollock, Sylvia Godden, and Graham Kirkwood
BMJ 2009 339: b4255. [Extract] [Full Text]

The problem with ISTCs: Tony Delamothe
BMJ 2009 338: b1863. [Extract] [Full Text]

Open government?: Jane Cassidy
BMJ 2009 338: b1798. [Extract] [Full Text]

Independent sector treatment centres: evidence so far: Allyson M Pollock and Sylvia Godden
BMJ 2008 336: 421-424. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Related external webpages:

: Listen to a BMJ podcast interview with Allyson Pollock.

This article has been cited by other articles:

Pollock, A. M, Godden, S., Kirkwood, G. (2009). What about independent sector treatment centres?. BMJ 339: b4255-b4255 [Full text]
Cassidy, J. (2009). Open government?. BMJ 338: b1798-b1798 [Full text]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Not just costly: Andrew Roberts
bmj.com, 11 May 2009 [Full text]
Independent sector treatment centres: learning from a Scottish case study: Gerry Marr
bmj.com, 11 Jun 2009 [Full text]
Response to Gerry Marr, Chief Operating Officer, NHS Tayside: Allyson M Pollock, et al.
bmj.com, 13 Jun 2009 [Full text]