OncologyBMA Welcomes Call For Transparency On Cost Of NHS Management Consultants
The BMA on Thursday welcomed the Health Select Committee"s call for the government to gather central information on the cost to the NHS of private management consultants.
In a speech on Wednesday, the chairman of the BMA"s Consultants Committee, Dr Jonathan Fielden, called for private management consultants to be "ditched" from the NHS. According to a recent estimate, the English NHS spent ÷£350 million on independent management consultants last year.
Commenting on the Health Committee report, Dr Fielden says:
"This is hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers" money that is yet to be shown to have benefited patient care. Particularly during an economic crisis, the public has a right to know how its money is being spent.
"NHS staff already have widespread expertise and knowledge. The benefit of management consultants - steeped in the ethos of the private sector - must be questioned and needs to be justified."
The British Medical Association