Southern Cross is not an\u00a0aberration. Of course people will like to say it's a bad apple, but it's not. It is the model for the privatisation of the NHS.<\/p>\n
How? Simple. Capture an income stream from the state - in this case fees for looking after the elderly.<\/p>\n
Capture physical assets used for their supply. In\u00a0Southern\u00a0Cross' case it is old people's homes. In the future it will be hospitals and other care\u00a0facilities.<\/p>\n
Sell of those assets to make a big gain. Even in Foundation hospitals the temptation will be enormous: you can guarantee big bonuses for directors of they do even if they can't be shareholders.<\/p>\n
Load the institution with heavy recurring obligations as a result, after paying out the bonuses.<\/p>\n
Then find the whole thing runs into trouble.<\/p>\n
Don't worry: the NHS can't fail just as Southern Cross in a real sense can't fail - the state has to pick up the pieces.<\/p>\n
So the gain is private and the cost is public.<\/p>\n
That's banking all over again.<\/p>\n
And coming to the NHS as a whole very soon care of Andrew Lansley and David Cameron.<\/p>\n
Oh, the mechanisms will vary, but have no doubt the result will be the same: the only business model in town right now is stripping the state for private gain. And it's sponsored by the Tories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"