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SHA Scotland - Scottish Labour Party Conference 2008
Contemporary Motion
NHS Occupational Health Privatisation
This conference condemns the decision by NHS Glasgow and Clyde to privatise
their Occupational Health Service using the private provider Capita. This was
confirmed in February, only after staff trade unions challenged the employers to
come clean over their secret plans.
The Chief Executive and Senior Managers claim that the service is not being
effectively delivered but have never consulted or even discussed their opinion
with staff in the service or their representatives. This in-house service has
been in operation for decades and was one of the first and largest in Scotland.
In 2006-7, 5900 employees were referred or self-referred to the service.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the World Health Organisation
(WHO) define occupational health as the promotion and maintenance of the highest
degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations
by preventing departures from health, controlling risks and the adoption of work
to people and people to their jobs. The Scottish Government claims it is
committed to promoting occupational health services through the Healthy Working
Lives Initiative and the Cabinet Secretary has stated that “We reject the very
idea that markets in health care are the route to improvement”.
It is an accepted fact that NHS workers suffer on average greater physical and
mental stress than most other workers. NHS Glasgow and Clyde Occupational Health
Service requires to be better developed and enhanced rather than privatised.
Doing this with a privatised service operated under rigid contracts, for profit,
would as witnessed from past experience be extremely difficult. Also Capita, the
preferred buyer, nicknamed "Crapita" by Private Eye magazine, has a less than
admirable record in delivering services. Public confidence in NHS healthcare
will be undermined when the health of staff is privatised.
Conference therefore calls upon Labour MSPs within the Glasgow and Clyde Health
Board area to make representations to the Health Board and the Health Minister
in order to reverse this retrograde and short-sighted proposal.
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