Jeremy Hunt, speaking to the National Children and Adult Services conference in Eastbourne on Thursday, has made an offer to local authorities that he feels they just can't refuse. Having taken up Andrew Lansley's crusade to make the NHS into a privatised cash cow for the already wealthy, he is now suggesting that the colonisation of public services should be extended into all areas of social care and that local government should be allowed to "invest" and cash in on this as well. It's a juicy deal and one that is rapidly becoming even juicier as Health Authorities up and down the country cut their overheads by sacking staff at a rate of knots. Rotherham Hospital has already announced cuts to its staff of 20% by the next election while the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is planning to shed 500 front-line jobs and 20% of its inpatient beds during the same period. Many more Doctors, nurses and anciliary staff are planning to leave the NHS, the Health Unions have discovered, as morale plummets and pay is frozen year after year. Nor should potential "investors" worry too much about a return on their money, despite the fact that the flagship privatisation of Hinchingbrooke Hospital has led to record-breaking financial loses. In keeping with the new capitalism Circle Health will still glum £2 million out of the hospital while the debts will be picked up by the taxpayer. For wealthy "investors" the NHS will be a gold-plated piggy bank, a "tails we win, heads the taxpayer loses" deal guaranteed to find support amongst the greedy everywhere. In terms of the political support for this act of daylight robbery the reason is all too obvious - simply study the picture above.
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