Decontamination threat - averted!

The tide of privatisation and marketisation has been halted in Devon, with the news that Northern Devon Healthcare Trust will not be contracting out it's Sterile Supplies work to private company Decon Sciences. This means that the proposal, which was once supported by 10 trusts in Devon, Dorset and Somerset, is now dead.

The health union UNISON ran an excellent campaign, and gathered support from the public as well as healthcare workers. The idea of a postcard sending campaign to the Chief Executive clearly worked. The clinical risks of the venture were spelt out forcefully, and ultimately worked to force the Trust's hand.

In order to try and force it through, the Government promised £1 million to each Trust if they took part. The growing unpopularity of privatisation meant that even with this giant bribe, the move didn't go ahead. The Trusts must now link together to campaign to get this cash, which is obviously available, to fund overstretched services.

While the proposal has been defeated, it is clear that there is still some uncertainty, and the Trust has said that in the 'middle-term' other options might be explored. They didn't state what the 'middle-term' meant, but it may well be that an attempt will be made again to privatise a service provided by NHS staff. We celebrate this victory, but are aware that there may be more battles to come.