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In the one particular area of London where I have NHS procurement experience I know that patient satisfaction is significantly higher in GP Practices that were outsourced. To the point that patients leave other practices in the area to sign up to the privately owned ones. The main reason for this is that the practices owned by the large private healthcare companies can afford to recruit the best doctors. I know this is a very specific example but I wanted to offer a counter argument to your claim that privatisation offers consistently poorer standards.
When I was in London I saw the underinvestment in GP services (I think this was round the time several flagship 24 hour clinics were being closed) and pressures on A&E that resulted, and it was quite shocking how poor provision was in comparison to Scotland's NHS which is ring fenced and fully devolved.
It seems inevitable that subsequently offering these services out to private contractors will create higher satisfaction ratings just because what they're competing with has purposely been run down? I think what Hunt's doing to junior docs and May is doing to foreign NHS staff's motivation will further bolster the private health industry.
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@Stonehedge
In the one particular area of London where I have NHS procurement experience I know that patient satisfaction is significantly higher in GP Practices that were outsourced. To the point that patients leave other practices in the area to sign up to the privately owned ones. The main reason for this is that the practices owned by the large private healthcare companies can afford to recruit the best doctors. I know this is a very specific example but I wanted to offer a counter argument to your claim that privatisation offers consistently poorer standards.