HEATED meetings about the future of the South London Healthcare Trust took place in Charlton last week after the debt-riddled trust was plunged into administration.


Around 200 people filled the library of Charlton House to vent their concerns at two meetings organised by Keep Our NHS Public Greenwich and We Love the NHS Greenwich.


The top fear expressed was of a US-style privatisation of healthcare sneaking in the back-door.


Speaking at the Keep Our NHS Public meeting, Unite Officer for south east London Phil Rose said he believed the move was a test-bed where more hospitals might follow suit if there was no public outcry.


Mr Rose said: "The trust is not failing – it is in financial straits but providing quality healthcare. They [the government] are trying to run it down so they can privatise it.


"Parasitical companies want to take over your health service.


"This is just the first – they are testing out these hospitals to see what the workers do and what the public do.

They are trying to destroy your health service – have no illusion about that."


Director of London Health Emergency Dr John Lister blamed expensive Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) as the main culprit for the trust’s £150m debts racked up over the past three years.


He said: "This is a spectacular example of how rotten a deal PFI is. We are in a terrible mess in this particular part of London.


"How is the administrator going to find a way out of this one. Has he brought a magic wand?"


He said he feared paying off the PFI bill would mean cutting services  - resulting in poorer care and fewer patients so there would be less money anyway.


He added:  "We have an intractable problem here. It is a government created problem through PFI.


"Why can’t they shovel a little bit into the NHS? If concerned about banking, why not the NHS?"


People wishing to express their concerns can write, email or phone their MP, local councillor, GP, Leader of the Council Chris Roberts, or Health Scrutiny Committee councillors Fahy and Janet Gillman.


Residents can also join in a protest outside Queen Elizabeth Hospital on August 4 – when the eyes of the world are trained on the area for Olympic shooting events.

 

Private Finance Initiatives are public-private partnerships where public infrastructure projects are funded with private capital.


One concern of PFI is it can lead to greater privatisation of services.


Consultant neurologist Shane de Lamont listed some problems of privatisation at the meeting:


- Outsourcing of contracts – problem of accountability
- Culture of figures – long-term care removed from the NHS
- National and transnational companies providing contracts – public data collected by private organisations