It is becoming apparent that Private clinics who share the status with NHS, are not up to the mark, as they should be, recent figures indicate. This responsibility was given to private clinics since 2002 to clear the backlog of waiting lists and to enable better choice to patients.
The clinics are given the permission to effect minor surgery, ENT treatments and even cataract operations. The Tories have complained that the clinics are not providing quality service commensurate with the money paid. The government is being accused of involving the private sector without it being in a position to live up to standards.Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "The government has involved the independent sector without delivering value for money. Centers are not working to their optimum capacity and cost significantly more than the same service provided by the NHS."
Paul Miller, chairman of the British Medical Association, said: "This shows what we have been saying for a long time. They have got preferential treatment of the kind the NHS can only dream of. The money spent on them would have been best invested in the NHS."
The department of health however has reassured the public, that the situation is only improving, the effects of which will be felt soon.
Source-Medindia
SAV
