Putting NHS-run sexual health services in Newcastle into the hands of private companies risks a rise in unintended pregnancies and leaving more sexually transmitted infections untreated, furious staff have warned.
In a scathing letter sent to city leaders this week, staff at the New Croft Centre attacked the decision to transfer its services to two private providers later this year. They claim that, as well as “reduced access and poorer sexual health”, the move could also mean that early detection of illnesses such as cervical or testicular cancer is missed due to a lack of integration with the NHS.
The city’s sexual health services have been NHS-run for more than 70 years and Newcastle City Council has contracted the Newcastle Hospitals trust (NUTH) to provide them since 2006. But two private companies will take over the operation in October, after winning a new council tender earlier this year which Newcastle Hospitals did not put in a bid for.
In a letter sent to all city councillors on Monday and seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, New Croft Centre staff wrote that splitting the sexual health service from the NHS would “lead to loss of care integration and quality, higher costs, longer durations before treatments, and poorer outcomes”.
They said: “The impact of NCC’s [Newcastle City Council’s] decision on patients will go beyond reduced access and poorer sexual health from rising and untreated STIs and unintended pregnancies due to compromises for profit. There will be a lack of appointments and timely access, loss of expertise and reduced access to contraception options like implants and intrauterine devices, and loss of individualised holistic healthcare that has led to early detection and treatment of several illnesses including cervical and testicular cancers and Behcet’s disease.”
Urging the Labour-run council to review the decision, they questioned why the new contract to run the service had been split up into separate tenders for in-person and digital provision. They claimed that the size of contract offered for the online service was “excessive” and the in-person one so “meagre” that it could only sustain the current service for around a year, and that NUTH “protested by not bidding for either”.
The staff added: “We kindly request your intervention in this matter. Please review the processes, criteria, and evidence by which this decision to ‘un-integrate’ Newcastle Sexual Health Services was reached, how the budget allocations for the digital and in-person parts were estimated, and what consideration was given to the circumstances of the people who have benefitted from this service being NHS-delivered for more than 70 years.”
Lib Dem councillor Wendy Taylor said the city’s opposition party was “astounded that a vital service, well run by the NHS for many years, is effectively being privatised by the Newcastle Labour Party”.
Coun Taylor, a consultant at the Freeman Hospital, added: “This whole saga is a huge concern to the current hard-working dedicated staff. We are aware of their concerns and recognise the excellent work done by the New Croft Centre team in this very important aspect of public health in Newcastle.”
The city council said that the sexual health service “ is not an NHS service but is a service procured by our public health team” and that it would “continue to work with Newcastle Hospitals to support the transition to the new provider”. A spokesperson added: “The decision to offer two elements: a clinical sexual health service; and an enhanced digital service, was based on a sexual health needs assessment supported by extensive public consultation and engagement with residents and service users and there was a clear desire from our residents to be able to access a more comprehensive digital offer.
“This proposal was also discussed extensively at the Newcastle Health and Wellbeing Board. The change in providers, as with all services for local authorities, then followed a rigorous procurement process which was required due to the value of the contract and national regulations.
“Newcastle Hospitals did not submit a bid. The decision on the change in providers was agreed by Newcastle City Council Cabinet on 17 June 2023 where both the leader and deputy leader of the Lib Dem opposition were present and no issues were raised with this process.”
The Newcastle Hospitals Trust was contacted for a response.
From October 1, clinical sexual health services will be provided by Solutions 4 Health and online services by Preventx – with existing staff due to be transferred across. Leena Sankla, director of public health and lifestyle services at Solutions 4 Health, said that it “provides innovative and sustainable lifestyle and clinical services that improve healthcare for all and has a proud history of providing local authority commissioned services”.
This content was originally published here.
