MOVES by Tory ministers to use the independent sector to tackle record NHS waiting lists and workforce shortages are setting a precedent for privatisation via the backdoor, doctors warned today. 

And the Doctors’ Association UK said that the widely condemned strategy does little more than “apply a plaster to a gaping wound.”

The government approach — following more than a decade of Tory-imposed austerity and the significant impact of the Covid-19 pandemic — represents a “deflection from addressing the fundamental issues plaguing our health services,” the not-for-profit group said.

Tory calls to expand the role of the private sector in health services have been largely backed by Sir Keir Starmer’s increasingly right-wing Labour Party, but campaigners have warned the strategy could hasten the end of a NHS, which turned 75 last month, free at the point of use.

The Doctors’ Association acknowledged “some merit in collaborations between the NHS and the independent sector, but without robust regulation, these alliances risk becoming a breeding ground for mediocrity in education and training and can jeopardise patient safety.”

The approach also “establishes a precedent for privatisation of the NHS via the backdoor,” it warned.

In a statement, group co-chairman Dr Matt Kneale slammed the "troubling abdication of responsibility by the government towards the NHS.

“We urge the government to confront the core issues contributing to the [treatment] backlog, through sustainable investments in the NHS workforce, infrastructure and capacity.”

He urged an “increased focus on training and retaining more doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, with fair compensation for their dedication and hard work.”

Downing Street must also “stop taking the easy way out and instead equip the NHS with the resources and manpower it urgently needs,” Dr Kneale said.