Streeting's blind spot
NHS plc , Issue 1650

DID health secretary Wes Streeting mislead parliament by downplaying the "level of exploitation" of the NHS by private providers? A leaked ministerial briefing suggests he did.

In January, Streeting announced a new partnership agreement between the NHS and private health firms to help cut NHS waiting times. Labour MP Stella Creasy asked him to set a cap on the profits of such firms to protect the NHS from profiteering, citing the planned cap for children's care homes as a model.

Streeting told her he was "not sure that the level of exploitation in either independent healthcare or adult social care mirrors what we have seen, disgracefully, in children's social care" but promised to "keep a sharp eye on that".

Briefing encounter
Before the outsourcing agreement was signed, however, a briefing prepared by civil servants for Streeting and other health ministers warned of "value for money and provider licence irregularity" risks in NHS cataract operations.

Private Eye has obtained this November 2024 briefing, which says: "The five main cataract providers made a pre-tax profit of over £100m in 2022 on an income of £354m, or 28 percent."

Despite "keeping a sharp eye" on profiteering, Streeting seems to have overlooked that this figure is similar to the profit of between 20 and 30 percent made on children's homes by some private companies, which education secretary Bridget Phillipson told MPs in November was "way beyond what we would expect in any other area" and showed "excessive profiteering".

Monitoring the monitors
The Department of Health would not discuss whether Streeting misled parliament, telling us instead it "will not tolerate any overpriced or sub-par care" and is "closely monitoring" to "ensure cost-effectiveness". So that's all right, then.

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