A CCG is facing massive opposition over plans to give a £1 billion contract for adult and older people’s services to a private company.
Protesters, who campaigned outside a meeting of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CCG, said thousands of older patients could be left worse off.
Potential contractors named by the CCG include Circle, Capita and the current provider.
According to the CCG, the overriding objective for putting adult and older people’s service out to tender is to improve services.
A CCG is facing massive opposition over plans to give a £1 billion contract for adult and older people’s services to a private company.
Protesters, who campaigned outside a meeting of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CCG, said thousands of older patients could be left worse off.
Potential contractors named by the CCG include Circle, Capita and the current provider.
According to the CCG, the overriding objective for putting adult and older people’s service out to tender is to improve services.
Dr Arnold Gertig, GP lead for the CCG’s older people programme said: “The current procurement will encourage existing and new providers to think about how they can better integrate services in order to keep people as well as possible.”
Labour candidates for the area and protestors from the unions GMB, Unison and Unite said the move would privatise the NHS “slice by slice”.
Steve Sweeney, from the GMB and secretary of Huntingdonshire TUC, said: “This is a watershed moment in the NHS in Cambridgeshire.
“If there is a decision that awards this contract to the private sector there will be no going back.”
Dr Gertig said: “Our pre-qualification stage of procurement closed at the end of July and those providers who have been successful in going forward will be announced during the next week.”
