Emeritus Prof Christopher May

The NHS is (and has been for such a long time) suffering budgetary constraints, but now we know where a slice of that shortfall is going: In two years private health providers made £1.6bn in profits from their work in the NHS.

Supporters of private provision will claim that money is a reward for extra productivity & efficiency; more realistically we know these firms are cherry-picking treatments & transferring patients back to the NHS when problems arise.

#NHS #health

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/apr/13/private-companies-nhs-services-profit-chpi-research

Private firms providing services to NHS made £1.6bn profit in two years, research finds

Exclusive: MPs say profit-making levels in England are ‘scandalous’ and call for cap on amount private companies can make from NHS

The Guardian
Apr 13 at 5:52amWeb
Show threadAngus2d ago
@ChrisMayLA6 interesting article form @pluralistic today Austerity creates fascism https://doctorow.medium.com/https-pluralistic-net-2026-04-13-always-great-our-nhs-f612bbaa0d4a
Austerity creates fascism

We can’t afford to not afford nice things.

Medium
Show threadEdmundo Ventolera2d ago

@angusjordan @ChrisMayLA6 @pluralistic

The merry-go-round of referrals from one queue to another for chronic conditions looks like a symptom of privatisation. It is the most profitable way of keeping an unmet need for palliative care in the revenue stream. The policy of paying third party suppliers per process is a profit seeker's dream.

The NHS should be an organisation paid to minimise the need for its services. It can only be provided as a public service for the common good.

Show threadEmeritus Prof Christopher May2d ago

@atm0spheric @angusjordan @pluralistic

Agreed; prevention is the key with public heath.... but as so often in a system with budget entrants, the money flows to immediate need - limits to finding prevention are a false economy

Show threadBilly Smith2d ago

@ChrisMayLA6

Every time private surgery is performed, they have an ambulance on standby to take them to an NHS hospital if things go wrong. :|

Show threaddoombunny2d ago
@BillySmith @ChrisMayLA6 Yep. Worked in NHS admin for almost two decades and the private hospitals basically had the local A&E on speed dial because they can't manage actual emergencies (real emergencies tend to be expensive in terms of staff/premises). They do lots of hernia ops though as they're relatively quick/cheap/free of complications. Siphoning off the stuff that makes private healthcare big money easily makes them all look efficient for little real effort.
Show threadAnneH2d ago
@ChrisMayLA6 Shocking - not surprising.
Show threadRightSprung will not comply2d ago

@ChrisMayLA6

Exactly what is happening in Ontario and other Conservative led provinces in Canada. It's like they all govern from the same playbook.

Show threadStoneface Vimes2d ago
@ChrisMayLA6 absolutely. Cherry pick the easy profitable cases. Throw the rest to the NHS, and when something goes wrong throw that one to the NHS too for any remedial work. The NHS thus becomes victim of a triple tap. Oh, and also has to train the staff used by the private sector as well.
Show threadJohn2d ago
@ChrisMayLA6 currently, the government isn't able to balance (tax receipts >= spending) the budget. The shortfall is made up by selling gilts on the bond markets. The yield (interest rate) for a 10 year government bond is ~5%. Somebody is always making a profit.
However, the one positive from this is that a lot of gilts are bought by UK pension funds (so at least some of that money is going towards UK pensions rather than anonymous American health megacorps).
Show threadbeemoh2d ago
@ChrisMayLA6 And today Streeting is going to announce he's going to privatise the whole thing.
Show threadH4Heights 🇪🇺🇵🇸🇺🇦🇨🇦2d ago
@ChrisMayLA6 My mother died in the “care” of a private hospital because it was dirty, but then private hospitals have much lower hygiene standards. All good for the balance sheet.
Show threaddrdr62622d ago

@ChrisMayLA6

Yes indeed.

The private sector will only treat profitable illnesses. You've no chance if you've got something unusual, chronic, expensive or needs attention outwith office hours.