NHS spends £1.8bn a year on private firms, says GMB in call to end outsourcing

A trade union is stepping up calls to end privatisation in the NHS after its research suggested health trusts spend at least £1.8 billion a year on private companies.

The GMB said requests using freedom of information laws to more than 200 trusts show they spend £1,831,105,580 annually on outsourced contracts.

Almost half the trusts did not respond so the true figure could be far higher, it is claimed.

A separate investigation found ambulance trusts across England spent £290 million on private ambulances during the past three years.

The total annual spend has almost doubled since 2021/22, according to the data.

The GMB said it wants to send a message to the Government from its annual congress in Brighton on Monday.

Ambulance worker Mo Akbar will tell delegates: “GMB members demand an end to privatisation.

“We must bring all outsourced services like cleaning, catering, and facilities back in-house.

“We demand real-terms restorative pay from the 14 years of brutal austerity.

“Workers and communities should have more say in how the NHS is run, ensuring decisions focus on patient care, not financial targets. Health outcomes are tied to poverty, housing, and working conditions, so NHS rebuilding must also address these inequalities.

“This Labour Government will have a crisis of legitimacy if they choose a path of further privatisation of the NHS, which would put at risk the sense of the collectivism that is at the heart of our health service

“We must be resolute in fighting for our National Health Service.”