Readers weigh up Labour’s plans to use the private health sector to reduce the NHS backlog
Re Wes Streeting’s ambitions (Wes Streeting defends Labour plan to use private sector to cut NHS backlog, 12 April), I worked two sessions a week as a GP specialist in endoscopy at our local NHS hospital. Two things were a constant source of irritation. First, the work was poorly remunerated and did not cover my absence from my practice. Second, the lists I worked were sub-optimally organised, with elective outpatient cases mixed with emergency inpatient cases, causing several patients long waits on the day of their endoscopy.
Consequently, myself and colleagues established our own community endoscopy service purely for NHS patients. From the start we offered transnasal gastroscopy, which is relatively new, results in less gagging, and seldom needed sedation. We developed a seamless referral service to secondary care for those who were discovered to have cancer to avoid any delays in assessment and treatment. From the start, our mantra was service, quality and training. It is a fine model of an innovative private service that is offering first-class care to the NHS.
