Source: Herald

By Judith Duffy, Health Correspondent

A STATE-OF-THE-ART hospital to provide some of the best facilities in Europe for patients. Mobile operating theatres which can be sent to areas with long waiting lists to carry out much-needed operations. A new unit where thousands of people waiting on operations such as hip replacements can be treated: on the face of it, these developments in the NHS in Scotland seem like good news for patients. Yet they have provoked a storm of criticism.

The common factor is the involvement of the private sector - either to build new facilities or to provide the services to treat the patients. However, the deep division over private investment in the NHS among both health workers and the public could make the issue a major battleground in the run-up to next year's Holyrood elections.

The debate has been fuelled by developments in recent weeks which have raised concerns that the health service north of the Border is following the lead of England and increasingly being opened up to private companies.

Full story...

Posted by pichu at December 24, 2006 1:01 PM