Money set aside for the private sector which went unused should be reclaimed to help pay for the care backlog arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors have demanded.
The BMA's Annual RepresentativeMeetingpassed a motion to "seek the return of public funds paid to the for-profit private sector to retain capacity which was under-used during the pandemic".
The motion also called for the Government to run a public information campaign about the "likely timescale" for a return to normal routine NHS services, along with adequate funding for the NHS to address the backlog of planned care that has built up.
Dr Sakkaf Ahmed Aftab from Yorkshire region, proposing the motion, deplored the use of public funds to pay private sector units, which are "not being used". He said "nobody knows" how much private sector capacity was used during the pandemic and criticised the "lack of transparency" as to how the money had been used.
A proposal that patients on waiting lists should be offered "optional primary care review" to see if their hospital appointment was still appropriate was rejected. Speaking in opposition to the proposal, Dr Shaba Nabi said doctors should not shift the burden to GPs as "community house officers".
