Letters
Equity and NHS reforms
What about independent sector treatment centres?
BMJ 2009; 339 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b4255 (Published 21 October 2009) Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b4255
- Allyson M Pollock, professor and director1,
- Sylvia Godden, senior research fellow1,
- Graham Kirkwood, research fellow1
- 1Centre for International Public Health Policy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AG
- allyson.pollock{at}ed.ac.uk
Cooper and colleagues have ignored the government’s £5 billion independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) programme in explaining the narrowing of the gap in waiting times across social classes.1 2 3 Patients attending such centres are routine and straightforward elective cases—that is, without complications and co-morbidities—and …
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