UK healthcare reform becomes public versus private battleground
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The UK Department of Health yesterday (September 17 2003) published a report praising its progress in modernising the medical equipment and facilities of the National Health Service. Its publication is more than coincidental, coming as the trades unions are tightening their pressure on the government to rethink a healthcare reform policy that increasingly involves the private sector - most notably the foundation hospitals, privately-run diagnosis and treatment centres and the private finance initiative (PFI) programme.