RICHARD Leonard has said he wants to see private finance “booted out” of the NHS as a priority as he argued running health services for profit was an “anathema”.
Speaking after announcing his party will review who is running public services and how public projects and infrastructure are funded in the wake of the collapse of outsourcing giant Carillion, the Scottish Labour leader called for the practice to be ended “as quickly as possible”.
“I say this in all candour, some of the big PFI hospital projects were built when Labour was last in power in Scotland. My priority is to look at the operation of PFI contracts in the NHS,” he said. “I think the exercise or the profit motive in the National Health Service is an anathema and I want to see that ended as quickly as possible. I would invoke Nye Bevan to say one of the areas where I would want to see as a priority PFI booted out is in the National Health Service.”
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