§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many functions of the NHS executive and Department of Health, London, have been market tested; how many have already been privatised; and how many will be privatised.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Department of Health and its agencies have market tested 30 activities under the Government's "Competing for Quality" programme. There have been no privatisations to date. Following a review of the NHS Estates agency, it is the intention now to conduct an enabling study beginning April 1996 with a view to completing privatisation of that part of its work that does not need to be kept in the public sector by the end of that financial year.
§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what NHS services have been market tested since April 1991.
§ 4. Mr. SackvilleThe range of services market tested up to 31 March 1993, the latest date for which information is available, or were planned to be market tested in 1993–94 is shown in the table under main service headings.
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Service Service Service Administration, Information and Financial Personnel Services Advertising and recruitment Banking Legal Consultancy Insurance Clerical and secretarial Management services Payroll Agency staffing Computer services Audit Education and training Micro-filming Accounts and bookkeeping Press and public relations Printing and stationery Estates, Building and Engineering Estates management Building and works maintenance Engineering Energy Management Flooring Fire Systems Grounds and garden Glazing Gas Supply Car parks Painting Electrical
Service Service Service Supplies Design Equipment systems maintenance Water and sewerage Waste disposal Hotel and Non-Clinical Support Services Hotel services Catering Crèche Facilities management Domestic services Leisure services Environmental Laundry and linen Photography Health management Ward housekeeping Portering Funeral services Switchboard/Reception Transport Security Pest control Courier services Clinical and Clinical Support Anaesthetics Bio-Engineering Chiropody Clinical coding CSSD* Continuing Care services (elderly) Haematology HSDU* Infection control IVF Services* Lithotripsy Medical physics Medical photography Mobility provision Magnetic Resonance Imaging Nuclear medicine Opthalmology Occupational health Occupational therapy Orthoptics Oxygen Therapy Units Patient appliances Pharmacy Laboratory services Speech therapy Incontinence services Physiotherapy Home renal dialysis Radiology Termination of pregnancy 1. There is no standard definition of services or list of services within the NHS and those listed above relate to health authority provider units' interpretation.
2. The services listed are those recorded from either health authority and NHS trust returns (already tested) or annual reports (plans to test).
3. Service headings such as "Hotel Services" and "Facilities Management" include a wide and varying range of individual services e.g. catering, portering, security car parking. Again there is no set pattern of which services make up hotel services etc., but relates to individual provider units' interpretation.
* CSSD = central sterile supply department, HSDU = hospital sterilizing and disinfecting unit, IVF = in-vitro fertilisation.